


If you want my future, remember my past

by Klouh



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur's Return, Canon Compliant, Fix-It, Gen, I hope, Plot What Plot, i hope i am using those right, if not please tell me, more or less crack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:28:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 51,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23890843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Klouh/pseuds/Klouh
Summary: Another "Arthur's return" story. No real plot, just me being happy to see them happy, and with any luck, that could make you happy too.Arthur appears one day in someone's life, and unwavering loyalty ensues.At the end they all live happily ever after.Between these two events... let's find out !
Comments: 6
Kudos: 5
Collections: Genuary 2021





	1. The Return of the King

**Author's Note:**

> Hello :)
> 
> This fic has been written purely for fun. And I hope that’s what you’ll have while reading it. I hope you’ll smile a few times, I also count on a few “owww” maybe.  
> This fic is nowhere near perfect, and I know that. I am also aware that the characters may not be as you remember from the show. I am sorry. I tried. This is also basically a plot-what-plot kind of fic, and vaguely self-insert, even tho my OC is way funnier/clever/more “badass” than me (because I usually took time to think about her actions, but I don’t have that luxury in real life…). Finally, I kept the relationships as canon as I remembered it. (It means no Merthur, sorry, but if you’re into that and haven’t read it yet, "And like the cycle of the year, we begin again" is meant for you, it’s brilliant !) (sorry i don't know how to add a link...)
> 
> I hope you’ll like this fic! Please don’t hesitate to comment, to correct any remaining mistakes (english is not my mother tongue), to ask any question you want. If you notice a plot hole and want to know if I am aware of it, please ask. I’ll probably answer either with “yes, thank you, I know, but...lazyyy haha” or with a big old “...oh sh*t”. If you want to know more headcanons about this fic, please ask. If you want to share your own, PLEASE DO! Whatever you want to say, say it. Almost. Just don’t be mean, and remember: if you don’t like this fic, just stop reading it. I am not sure that I want to know that, and even less to know every single thing you dislike about it. I won’t be mad if you leave, but I’ll be sad if you criticise my work.
> 
> I also want to thank [hells_half_acre](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hells_half_acre/pseuds/hells_half_acre) because tbh, it's because of their work that I got so motivated to write :) (and PLEASE check out their work it AWESOME !)
> 
> And last but not least, a big big BIG thank you to the wonderful [faustine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/faustine/pseuds/faustine) who beta-ed this fic and put up with my poor english (she’s still probably crying tears of blood because of my poor use of the past perfect or whatever). Sometimes (a lot of times), when even Google Docs forfeited, she was there (plus Google Docs is not good with plot-hole detections...) I can’t thank you enough. You were there from the beginning of my “writer’s” journey - from Jim the Ant (who is you godson btw, sorry I don’t make the rules : you named him, he’s your godson) and Steve the dumb roomate - to the publication of this fic. That means a lot. Thank you so much.

The day I met him was a sunny January day.  I was there for three months , and finally began to adapt to this foreign life. I love my job, but it's a bit complicated and not really interesting to novices' eyes, so let's just say that I got some kind of partnership between the hospital I worked in in France and this one in the UK. So I'm here for four years, to do some research with the UK team.

Anyway, one day after work, I was walking around in the huge hospital park, near the lake. It was still early, so there were not many people there, and when I reached the end of the park, I hadn't seen anyone in like fifteen minutes. Until that guy, lying face down on the shore, his legs in the water. To be honest, I was never good in first aid, so I kinda hoped he was just a weird guy who liked to sleep almost entirely in the cold lake.

Obviously, he was not that kind. But he was alive and breathing and I tried to wake him up because I do at least know that it's not a good idea to sleep in cold water... But I expected a drunk guy so I kept my nose away from his mouth. I was not disappointed when he woke up. He jumped on his feet and yelled at me. I didn't understand a word, but again, english's not my mother tongue, so forget about drunk-english...

I tried to calm him down, telling him that I meant no harm, but he didn't seem to understand me, and I couldn't smell any alcohol - could be because of all the water though... He kept reaching for something at his side that obviously was not there, and he looked around like he was looking for something else, or maybe someone. He was clearly disoriented, so I sat there, my hands visible, and I waited. He didn't seem that drunk after all, not clumsy, and not holding his head in his hands like some guys do. I didn't know what to do ; he didn't appear to be dangerous but you never know. And he seemed lost and even sad and I don't know what happened to me but I had the feeling that he deserved a chance. Just in case, I still kept my phone near me, and I was sitting near the track that leads back to the hospital.

Finally, he seemed to calm down, frowned and yelled what I thought was a name. He tried a few times, so by the end of it, I was sure he was calling a Merlin. I smiled at that, after all, we are in Avalon and this name means something around here... I tried to say that Merlin was not here right now, but  _ I _ was, so maybe I could help? He frowned again, and I realised that his face probably reflected mine when he spoke. He didn't understand a word. I tried french, and even the few german words that were still in my brain, but nothing worked. So I went for the basics. I pointed at my chest, and said my name, a few times, just to be sure. Then I pointed at him, and raised an eyebrow in what I intended to be an interrogation face. I think he got it, because he slowly pointed to himself and said : "Arthur." I smiled again. Of course his name was Arthur...

I kept things practical and put my arms around me, to imitate being cold, and ask him "Cold ?" I did the gesture a few times, with the noise of shiver and chattering teeth. He nodded slowly, without stopping to watch me like I was going to attack him somehow, or rather like I was absolutely crazy... But honestly, I was as sane as I could, and the only advantage I physically had on him was his low body temperature. He was - and still is - taller than me, and clearly in a good physical shape. But that's not the point... He WAS cold, so I gave him my jacket, too small for him of course, but that was all I could do for him at the moment. Then I carefully stood up and made the universal 'follow me' gesture, and said "Come." Well in fact, this gesture may not be universal, but I hoped he would understand. He looked around one more time, hesitated but still came with me. I wanted to ask if he was injured somehow, but I couldn't find any gesture that could be correctly interpreted, so we just walked silently.

When we arrived near the hospital, he gasped and stopped. He said something in his language, and I could swear he was swearing. He seemed distressed and threatened. Scared. I said reassuring things to him, nice stuff about the place. I knew he couldn't understand, but I tried to use a tone of voice that could not be misunderstood. I didn't mean him any harm. It kinda worked, and he followed me again, slower this time. He was looking everywhere, and frowning. We had to stop when a plane flew over us, and also when we saw the first car driving by. But finally, we reached the ER.

I explained everything I knew, which was not much, to the doctors, and said goodbye to him with a wave and a smile. But when they started to try to take his clothes off, and he yelled at them and tried to defend himself, I couldn't stay away. I ran back at him and used the same voice than earlier, and explained to him that they just wanted to help him. I breathed heavily, and added a gesture, to make him understand that he should do the same. The nurses got the clue and talked to him calmly, like he was a small kid. I think he realised it because he frowned again, but he let them do their job. I tried to leave again, but he grabbed my arm with his hand and said something, just a word. He said it with such a tone, and he looked at me with the most serious eyes ever, and I knew what he had told me.

"Stay."

*

So I stayed. I stayed and I looked away when the nurses and the doctors checked every inch of him, I stayed and calmed him down when they approached him with some machines. I stayed and asked him to lie down in the scanner and the MRI. I stayed. He was fine. But he was not speaking any language that anyone here knew, and he had no ID. He was just Arthur.

They kept him because the hospital was miraculously not crowded, and a few days later, the police came to fill some papers about him, in case someone was looking for him. The officer took a picture, and Arthur nearly attacked him because of the flash, but I was there to stop him. Obviously not physically, but he seemed to listen to me.

I could tell that he was frustrated by the lack of comprehension between him and the rest of the world, so I tried to find someone who knew his language. I recorded his voice once, which seemed to amuse him a lot. He asked me to listen to himself a few times and laughed. It was the first time I heard his laugh. I tried to teach him a few english words, but I'm not a teacher so I didn't know how to do it well. Though, he seemed to remember everything.

Every day after work, I came to visit him and I never left before the nurses kicked me out for the night. Sometimes I even ate lunch with him too. I only kept my habit to go to that sports bar on wednesday nights, near the place I lived in the first weeks I was here. The barman was really nice, so it was my "day off", when I could talk about everything else in my life - my job, my boss, my crush, the latest movie I watched or the books I've read.

Finally one day, someone recognised the message in a bottle I posted online with Arthur's voice. The guy told me about his great great uncle or something, who was an old-school teacher. The guy had recognised Arthur's language to be very close to one of the ones his relative used to teach. Some kind of very ancient english. The great great uncle was dead, but he had published a book to learn this language. The guy told me everything I needed and the next Saturday, I got the book in the mail. That day, when I came into Arthur's room, he greeted me like always : "Hello Anna." He always made a point to address everyone with their name - and title, when they had one - and it was actually kinda nice. The nurses liked that a lot too, but I suspect them to just like him a lot... He was really good-looking after all.

But anyway, I came in and showed him the book. The front page had a few lines in this old english, so I thought it could ring a bell. It did. He seemed so happy ; he started to talk to me like he never did, like suddenly I understood... The book was really well-written, just like a basic dictionary with a few lessons about grammar and stuff. I showed him a few words that he already knew, so he could understand how it worked. After a few minutes, he grabbed the book and searched for something, muttering under his breath. Finally his face lit up and he pointed a word. He frowned, concentrated, and then looked at me and said "Thank ye". I melted, but kept the appearances and corrected: "thank YOU". He repeated that last word, and smiled.

We spent the rest of the day, in fact the whole weekend, communicating with this book. It was slow, but still efficient. He wanted to keep the book, but I wanted to have it too, so I ordered a second one. I worked hard to learn Arthur's language. He progressed faster... After all, I still had to go to work! We discovered similarities between modern and old english, so it became easier and easier to talk. Within  three months (MARCH) after he appeared, we were practically talking without the book, mostly in modern english. Sort of. Actually, it was easy for us to talk, because english was not the mother tongue for both of us. So basically, we were speaking some language we called "almost-english".

We mostly talked about everyday life. I explained to him cars, planes, computers, phones, and also some of the medical stuff, and also coffee, chocolate, ice cream... Every "modern" thing seemed to be strange for him, but he actually did catch up quickly, even if he sometimes looked kinda puzzled. I didn't make him watch tv, I thought that all the bad stuff in the world could wait... The language-thing also implied that he could finally talk to the doctors, and he quickly moved to the psychiatric wing, because of his amnesia.

*

Amnesia, really ? Well...

One morning, we were walking in the park, and he suddenly stopped. He looked sad, just like he was every time we were outside, especially when he looked at the lake. It was like he missed his life, even if he hadn't had any. He asked me to sit down, held my hand so I could actually sit on the ground - always his gentleman manners - and joined me. He looked around then started to talk.

"You tell me there is no magic here. So, this is not normal, but believe me. I am not lying. I know that it is strange, but magic exists. There is no other explanation for me to be here. I died long time ago. I remember. Too much. What I want to say is that I remember my life. But I think it is too strange to tell the physicians. My name is Arthur Pendragon, and I am - or was maybe - King of Camelot. I died a long time ago. There was a friend with me, that is why I search him when you hmm... find me the first day. I hope he is not dead. Well... he is probably though ; it was a long time ago."

And just like that, he stopped and stayed silent. My thoughts were running wild, I had thought he had forgotten everything, not that he remembered something that could not be. I looked at him, so sad, so tired. He was looking at the lake and if he were someone else, I swear he would be crying. I made up my mind. Whether his story was true or not, whether it was  _ real _ or not, it was real for him. I couldn't let him down. Because he had no one else, and neither did I, at least not here. And honestly? I kinda believed him, as weird as it sounds... So I told him so. I agreed that it wouldn't be a good idea to tell the doctors about that, and I asked him to tell me more about him, about his history. And so he did.

He told me everything about Camelot, about its great castle, about the village down the fortress. He told me about the forest and the fields around the city. He told me about the mountains, the lakes and the sea. He told me about the neighboring countries, the friendly kings and the vilest enemies. He told me about his family, his father Uther and his mother he never knew. He mentioned a half sister Morgana. I knew enough about the legend to know that she was probably not a good person, so I didn't ask more. He told me about his friends, about the Round Table and about the Knights. He told me about their love, their friendship, their loyalty and their courage. He told me a few stories about them, some names, some adventures. He told me about his wife Gwen. He told me about the pain he had been feeling ever since I woke him up on the shore of the lake, knowing that he left her. He told me about her, about her beauty and how he met her, how he began to fall for her and how he finally married her. He told me how it was to live with her. He told me that he missed her greatly.

And overall, I felt something odd. I felt like he was still keeping something from me. But I didn't want to push my luck; I didn't want to force him and maybe he didn't want to tell me everything. He told me many other things, many stories. I laughed with him, I almost cried a few times, and I still noticed when something was missing. Like a piece of a puzzle, that would finally reveal the hidden image. The sun was way up in the sky, and I was starving. But I refused to say something that could stop him from sharing. At some point, he stayed silent for a while, so I started to think about what he said, and I muttered a curse. I was so stupid...

"Arthur? Can I ask you something?" He turned to face me and raised an eyebrow. "What about... Merlin?" He sighed deeply, and looked even sadder... I was right then. He started to talk again. Basically, he started all over again, but this time the holes were filled. He told me about Merlin. His manservant, his friend, his most loyal and beloved servant as he realised. He told me about his stupidity, his weakness, his inabilities. Then he told me about his own stupidity and how he was blind to the truth. Merlin was a sorcerer, he had magic and Arthur only knew about that at the end. He only then told me about his end, Morgana, Mordred, his death. He told me about Merlin and what he had told him at the end. He told me about what he said to his friend, he told me that he hoped Merlin had really understood what he meant. He told me he was sorry, just as if I were Merlin myself. He asked me if I ever forgave him, and I realised he was really not talking to me anymore. Finally, he muttered, so softly I almost missed it : "I am so sorry Merlin..."

I was so caught in Arthur’s story that I was not surprised to feel a tear falling on my hand. He coughed, then added "I'm starving." I laughed, still half crying, and stood. "We have to get back. We missed lunch..." Well in fact, it was almost dinner time.

After that day, we kept talking about everyday life - modern life, but also about the days in Camelot. Step by step, he told me everything. I was not scared that he would stop anymore, so I asked many questions. I quickly realised the differences between his days and mine, so I added social lessons to our program. Men and women equality, gay rights, the absence of nobility... To be honest, this one was quite difficult, since some countries still had nobility, like the UK...

One day, when he kept arguing with me about what women could and couldn't do, should and shouldn't do, I even asked him if he knew what we did to one of our latest kings in France. I left his room after giving him the answer, leaving him with his mouth open, feeling quite proud of myself. Obviously, I called him less than an hour later, and apologized deeply. But he returned the favor, and never questioned the abilities of women ever since.

*

A few more months (JUNE) and Arthur started to get really bored. But the doctors were satisfied, because he made great progress in readjustment. They said that his memories could come back one day, maybe piece by piece, but still nobody was looking for him. So I went to see his doctors, and asked about some kind of permission for him to go out. After all, he had been stuck in the hospital since I found him. And how could he make anymore progress in real life, without actually living in it? How could he learn to avoid a car, without actually walking near one? The doctors promised me they'll think about it, and soon enough, one day, Arthur told me that his doctor asked him if he wanted to spend a couple days out, that he thought Arthur was ready for it, and that I had offered to host him.

He seemed really happy about it, and thanked me in old english. I was glad that he was happy, and that he used his language again. As he learned modern english so fast, he had stopped speaking his own language very soon. I never gave up though, and still practiced on my own. Anyway, we set a date with the doctors, a weekend at the end of my holidays, three weeks later.

Right now, I'm at my parent's, writing this so I can finally "talk" to someone about this... Took me a few nights to be up-to-date! Obviously I talked about Arthur to my friends and family here, but I never mentioned the "King of Camelot" part. I fly back tomorrow. I plan to go to my sports bar tomorrow night - on a thursday!! - hoping Shane will be there... Honestly, I don't even go there for the sports, but just for him. I don't know if I'm just another annoying customer for him, but for me he's the closest thing I have to a friend here. I hope I don't annoy him though... Anyway, on friday I'll clean my place, and I'll take Arthur with me on friday night. I'll take him to a simple restaurant, I think, and then we'll see. I am terrified and eager.


	2. I’ll be there for you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone's missing in this story, isn't it ?

Ok well, let's say that this week-end was... interesting. As I planned, Thursday night I went to the Sports Bar, and Shane greeted me with enthusiasm. Honestly, if I was an annoying customer, he does nothing to repel me! It was game night, but it was a local game so the bar was not crowded. The huge flat screen was broken or something, so all of the 8 sports fans were packed in a corner of the bar, in front of an old tv. I literally had the rest of the place for myself.

Once the guys all had their beers, Shane came back behind the bar in front of me.

\- So, it's not wednesday..." he said.

\- Well, you noticed too? So strange...

He laughed, and added : "What changed?"

\- I just came back from my parent's, and I don't know, I just wanted to come here before going back to work.

\- Oww sweetie, just say it..." he replied with a wink, still cleaning the glasses.

\- Say what now?

\- You missed me.

\- All right, of course that's the reason... How could I forget?" I laughed.

\- Honestly though, I'm pretty sure you still come here every week because I'm the most handsome man around, aren't I? Without flirting obviously.

We had to say that every once in a while because once, his boss heard us talk and he gave Shane a lecture about hitting on customers. And well, we  _ are _ flirting, but just for the fun of it, so... But we kept that funny little habit even when the boss is not around.

\- Well..." I answered, and I looked around as if the place was crowded, then said : "I must admit you would be in my top 20 of tonight's men.

\- Top 20? But we're not even that much! Now I'm upset," and he proceeded to sulk exaggeratedly.

\- Ok fine, let me look again..." and I did, then added : "To be honest, I think you're in my top 1 today.

\- Much better," he said, and he faced me again with his bright smile.

\- What about me then? Still without flirting because I already have a crush, you know?" I said, like he wasn't aware - like I wasn't talking about that guy almost every time…

\- Of course. Well, top 2," he answered without even a second of reflexion. I didn't know how to take those facts - the second position, and the immediate answer.

\- Top 2? I'm flattered. But please, do tell me who is your top 1! Who on earth am I missing here?

\- Oh no no no, first you have to tell me you won't change my ranking.

\- Pinky promise. Now who's the one?

\- Second row, the tall blond guy?

\- All right, I get it. He just made it to my own top 2. So, will you ever try something with him? And I obviously not speaking about hitting on him.

\- Obviously. Because that would be prohibited.

And we kept on talking and joking all night. It was really relaxing, and I missed that actually, even if I was in France for only two weeks...

*

Then friday came, and I woke up late. Then I cleaned my place and went for groceries. Then I booked a nice restaurant for that evening, very simple but tasty. Then I went to pick Arthur up. It was nice to see each other again, even if that was almost ruined by the doctor's endless instructions. Like I couldn't take care of a grown man, who actually could take care of himself... No triggers, no strong alcohol - I negotiate a few beers though - nothing dangerous, and I couldn't leave town with Arthur. Well, for only two days, we had enough with just the town of Avalon anyway. I wanted to buy him some clothes, and maybe watch a movie.

Anyway, the dinner was nice. Arthur behaved well in the restaurant, and he was clearly happy to finally be outside of the hospital limits. He was amazed by the cars - as the one he saw near the hospital were slow or parked - and loved to be in mine, even if I drove veeeery slowly. He asked me about the horses, about where they were but I couldn't answer that except with a lame "hmm I don't know... Farm perhaps?" He spent the whole evening asking me questions about what was out there, and when he was finally tired, I made his bed. Actually, it was my couch, and when he saw that he was not going to sleep in the bedroom, he seemed upset. I reminded him that he was at  _ my _ place, and even if he was a king, I was from a place where we’ve chopped the king's head. He laughed and agreed to sleep on the couch. I winked and wished him a pleasant night.

*

I didn't exactly wake up as planned. I thought I could sleep in, or maybe not if Arthur woke up early. But I absolutely didn't expect to be thrown to the ceiling and be stuck there in the middle of the night. When I could focus on what was going on, I saw a very angry and upside down man. Well, it was me who was upside down, and I was also angry, but more terrified actually. I couldn't scream, or talk, and I was freaking out. The guy said something, but too fast and too angrily and I didn't understand a thing. To be fair, my ears had started to ring. As he talked, I saw that my window was open wide, but not my bedroom door. With any luck, the maniac would not go to the other room and Arthur would be safe. I thought he asked me something, but I couldn't hear. I think he frowned - once again, I was upside down - and he left the room, unfortunately by the door.

I tried to warn Arthur but no words came. I realised slowly - not a morning person - that there was no way on earth I should be like that. Something had thrown me against the ceiling, and I was stuck there, unable to move or make a sound. That. Was. Not. Possible. My head was seriously buzzing now, and I was really freaked out. Then, I heard Arthur scream, probably awakened by surprise. I wondered if he was thrown away too. But when I heard him next, his voice was a bit angry, surprised if I had to guess, but not scared at all. And what he said was even more unbelievable.

_-_ _ Mer _ lin?"

Of course. Merlin. The sorcerer. Of course. I had accepted Arthur stories as real, but I was clearly not ready for magic. Yet I had to admit that magic was a good explanation for my current position, so why not... I heard them talk in old english, but too low and too fast for me to understand anything. Furthermore, I needed all my concentration to not black out, because fainting is not really fun in general, but at this precise moment, I had the impression that fainting would mean falling. And that was not an option.

Suddenly Arthur came into the room and said something to the other guy - Merlin - and I did fall. Slowly and right into my bed though, so no harm done. My head kept buzzing but I was already feeling better. I was back in the game, and angry.

\- WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?" Well THAT was clever... I kept talking. "Did you do that? Why? Why are you in my apartment? Why did you do that? DO YOU KNOW I HAVE A DOORBELL? And oh putain je suis en pyjama... GET OUT OF MY ROOM let me dress myself.

And I slammed the door. I breathed, I dressed, I panicked, and finally I opened my door again. "Talk." I really watch too much tv...

I was talking to Merlin, but Arthur answered for him:

\- This is Merlin. This is the one I have told you about. He is my fr- manservant.

I rolled my eyes. Men... I saw Merlin smirk at the hesitation, so I watched him closely. He looked genuinely happy, at the very least. In fact, he looked like it was the most beautiful day of his life... So I asked him :

\- When did you wake up? How did you find him?

He didn't answer me, but looked over Arthur instead. Arthur simply nodded, so Merlin answered him :

\- I never woke up. I was waiting for you, since... since you... since then. I had set a magical alert around the lake. I knew the minute you crossed the shore."

\- Not to sound mean or anything, but it took you half a year to come back here? Where on earth were you?” I asked.

He froze. He looked so shocked and young suddenly. I stopped myself from asking if he was alright; after all, HE broke into my home! He slowly turned back to Arthur and asked in old english, his voice shaking :

\- Half a year? You were back for 6 months?"

\- Around that, yes. Why?

\- I missed your return... Where were you? What did you do to him?" he finished in modern english.

And suddenly I was back against a wall, but this time not upside down, thankfully, and I could talk. So I did.

\- I didn't do anything, okay? I just found him one day on the shore of the lake, and I brought him to the ER near there, and that's ALL! For god's sake, who do you think I am?

\- I don't know and that's what worries me.

\- Merlin!" Arthur yelled.

My ears rang with the name, and I was free to move again.

\- Sire?

Sire? Honestly?

\- Merlin, this is Anna. She is a friend. She helped me. She taught me this language, and the ways of this era. She is trustworthy.

Merlin looked at me with scepticism. Then he said a few words I didn't understand, and I saw his eyes turn to gold. I freaked out again and Arthur repeated his name with that harsh voice of his. Merlin's eyes turned blue again and he smiled, still wary : "Now I know. At least she's not evil."

\- Evil? But of course I'm not evil! What I am though, is tired, so I'm going back to bed even if all of this is just nonsense. DON'T do anything that I won't approve of.

Merlin raised his eyebrow and Arthur frowned. I rethought my words before adding examples: "Don't break my furniture, don't wake up the neighbours..." The corner of Merlin's mouth began to lift up a bit, so I gave up. I went back to bed with an irritated wave of my hand, I slammed the door, mumbling in french, cursing myself for having to change my clothes again. I heard Merlin laugh, and couldn't stop myself from smiling too. What was that? He BROKE into my home! And I practically forgave him, just like that. It was the same with Arthur though, I believed him almost immediately. Well, after all, one more weird thing in my life won't make any difference. Except for the better maybe...

*

The rest of the weekend was almost as I planned. We did go shopping for Arthur clothes, but we didn't watch any movies. Instead, there was a lot of old-english conversation between Arthur and Merlin, a few in modern english when one of them realised I was still there or maybe when the subject became less sensitive. But it was still nice to watch Arthur with a friend. He laughed a lot more during this week-end than in the last 6 months. They had sadder conversations too, during which I always found something else to do. Groceries again, or laundry, or shower - I showered 3 times saturday... At some point on Sunday, when Arthur was out of the room, Merlin suddenly spoke up:

\- What do you want from him?

\- Come on... Nothing! I just want to help him okay? Look, I'm sorry if you were not there when he came back, but I mean no harm. I wish I could prove it to you.

\- There's a way. Will you let me read through you?

\- It depends. Does it hurt?" I asked, like it was not a big deal even though I was kind of scared.

\- No, I swear," he answered, his right hand raised.

\- Okay then.

I tried to be brave, but I shivered when he touched my arm. I felt like static electricity and next thing I knew, Merlin was smiling bright at me.

\- You're okay. Unless you're some kind of extremely powerful being, powerful enough to hide your magic from me. But you're fine. I'm sorry, but I couldn't risk it.

\- Don't worry, I get it.

Really? I  _ get _ it? HE BROKE INTO MY HOUSE! But Merlin suddenly seemed embarrassed, and he said:

\- Umm... maybe it's for the best if we keep that for ourselves? And not mention it to Arthur?

I laughed and winked.

\- Your secret is safe with me. Well, your secrets actually!

Arthur came back into the room at this moment.

\- What kind of secrets are you talking about?

I stood up very theatrically and counted on my fingers:

\- Well, where do I start... You're the legendary King Arthur of Camelot, and he is the sorcerer Merlin. You told me about Excalibur, the Sword in the Stone... What else? Oh well, of course, magic is real! Also, you DIED a few centuries ago clearly, and Merlin lived through that, waiting. Oh, you're also not amnesiac. Did I forget something?

Merlin laughed and Arthur followed. They spent the rest of the day talking in modern english, and told me many stories about the old days. They only told happy stories, so it was a really good week-end after all. I'm not sure if Arthur did get a lot of sleep though, I left them both to talk every night.

*

Monday morning, I took Arthur back to the hospital, much to Merlin's wrath. Arthur was not very happy about it either, so I lectured them both about keeping the appearances. If this went well, maybe we could take Arthur out of the hospital much more permanently in a few months. They winced at the delay but agreed. I had an appointment with the doctor, and told him all about our "quiet" week-end. The shopping, the talks, the restaurant, the walks and the car rides. I also told him about the neighbour Martin that got on well with Arthur. Few days later, the doctor told me that he was more than happy with the way things had been, so if I wanted to spend more time with Arthur outside of the hospital, he would give me permission. He also said that this Martin guy was an extremely good person of extremely good influence. I wondered exactly what kind of influence Merlin had on this doctor, but I shrugged and nodded with a smile.

After that, things went well. We found our routine, just like we had before Merlin came by. Every week-end, we picked Arthur up and we stayed at my place. Merlin told us that he had a small flat, too small for the three of us. I happily noticed that none of them ever questioned the "three of us". I quickly let go my fear of being left alone now that they got each other, because they made a point to include me in almost every conversation. I have to admit though, that sometimes I just nod with a smile when things get too specific but I don't want to interrupt. Merlin and I went along well, now that the first day's misunderstanding was solved. During the week, I assume he slept at his place, but I still suspect that he has found a way to stay at the hospital near Arthur. Too often I found him sleeping in a chair when I came by to say hi during my lunch break or even after work. Merlin and the King keep feeding me with stories. Sometimes I try to take some notes, so I have a list of the people they tell me about.

Gwen - the Queen - is really mentioned a lot. Also Uther, Gaius, and some Knights, always the same. Lancelot, Percival, whose names are familiar to me, and a few others I never heard of before. In exchange, I tell Arthur tales about the Knights of the Round Table. I'm not an expert, so it's just the basics. When I told him that we often picture Merlin as an old guy, he bursted into laughter before realising something, and Merlin confirmed that the old magician Arthur had seen sometimes was indeed Merlin. At first, Arthur was kinda upset, but quickly enough he understood the potential of teasing and now he won't stop asking Merlin if he needs a chair to ease the pain of old age. I'm not sure if he thought about the fact that Merlin actually  _ is _ a very very old man, since he waited for Arthur's return for god knows how many years. When Arthur says things like that, I often catch a very melancholic look in Merlin's eyes, but the King never seems to notice.

I also lend books to Arthur, and a few movies. If I had a choice, I would prefer that he still didn't watch live tv, and Merlin agrees. We told him how it works though, and also the reason why we don't really like the idea of him watching tv. He's not so happy about it, but he agrees to wait a bit, and only because he still has a lot of books and movies to catch up. I offered to take them to the Sports Bar once, because the doctor seems extremely willing to do anything Merlin asks him to, so we will have the permission to go out on a week's night. Merlin is really protective over Arthur, so he wants to check on the place and the customers first. I'll give him a ride tonight, he will have a look then leave me to my occupations; he said he "will manage to go back home by himself". I suspect some magic trick will be involved, but I'm sure I don't have to remind him to be careful. After all, he survived every witch hunt of the past centuries.


	3. Have I been there before ?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where the team gets bigger and bigger...

Oh boy, once again, what a night that was... I picked Merlin up at the hospital to drive him to the Sports Bar. We planned to have a drink together before leaving me there, but the second we got close to the bar, he felt something weird. He said it was not something wrong, quite the opposite actually, but he only felt something like that once before. It was right before he came into my apartment and found Arthur, in a much stronger way though. When we arrived in front of the bar, I saw Shane waving at me and I almost fell on Merlin because he had stopped walking. He was pale and shocked so I tried to figure out what was wrong:

\- Merlin? Are you ok? What's going on?

\- That guy... Behind the- We have to go.

\- What? Wait! No! That's my bar, that's where I'm going to go tonight. What is it with this guy? Who, by the way? Come on!

Merlin retreated into the car, and buried his head in his hands. I never saw him like that - well, I only knew him for a few months, so that explains a lot... I waited in silence for a while, then I asked him:

\- Merlin? I'm willing to give you a ride home if you want me to, but maybe I can help you with whatever this is? At least, maybe it will make you feel better if you share?

He took a deep breath, and said:

\- The guy behind the counter...

\- Shane? What's with him?

Merlin suddenly straightened his head:

\- You  _ know _ him?

\- Well, he's kind of a friend, maybe, I don't know... I mean, he's the main reason I come here...

\- Do you... Is there something between you two? Your crush, that's him?" said Merlin, now without any trace of worry any more, but more something like a playful look.

\- What? No! My crush's in France, I told you that already! No, Shane's a friend!" I said, weirdly defensively. "Well, a friend I don't know. But you got the idea," I added, almost sulking for god knows what reason...

\- Well, that's Gwaine,” Merlin said.

\- What? His name's Shane.

\- Maybe today, but a few centuries ago, his name was Gwaine, and he was a knight and a friend.

\- ... What?

\- He is Gwaine.

\- You mean, he looks like...?

\- No, well he does but it's not just that. I can feel it you know, magically. He _i_ _ s _ Gwaine.

\- So, what? He woke up like Arthur? Or he waited just like you? Honestly I'm all for option 2, because he was there before Arthur came back, and he's really well adjusted to modern life.

\- No, he died.

\- Come again?

\- Gwaine, back then. He died. I don't know, I'm thinking about something like reincarnation maybe?

\- Seems legit, he did tell me a few things about when he was a kid, in the 90's. But, do you think he knows?

\- No clue. Have you ever told him about Arthur?

\- Of course, you don't find amnesiac guys in the lake every day you know. But I said nothing about who he was, or you for that matter.

\- Do you think... do you think you can tell him a few things, and see how he reacts?

\- Something like, 'hey! that guy I found in the lake, do you know who he thinks he is? Arthur, King of Camelot! How awesome!' Something like that?

\- Haha maybe more subtly but that's the idea," he laughed.

And once again, it struck me how easily I took the whole thing. Someone back from the dead in a lake, someone else that didn't die for a few centuries - more like a millennium - and now, a reincarnated guy. Who happened to be my favorite bartender...

\- Can you go now? I'll borrow your car, and I'll pick Arthur up.

\- Hum, right now? It's past 9... Even with the doctor in your pocket, you won't be able to do that.

\- The doctor in my pocket?

\- Fuck, it's french. You have him wrapped around your finger or something.

Merlin laughed again, but then nodded.

\- You're right though, we'll bring him here saturday. I have to know if he has the same feeling, and then we'll see what we do.

\- The same feeling? But Arthur's not magic...

\- Neither are you. And yet, don't you believe our story just like that?

\- ... Fine... You still have no explanation about that, right?" I asked with a false suspicious look.

He laughed again, and got out of the car.

\- Come on, off you go, you have a barman to hit on.

\- Merlin!

And he disappeared in a laugh. I angrily texted him a very immature "asshole", to which he instantly replied "not even sorry, have a good night ;)". I pretended to not see what the wink implied, rolled my eyes and headed to the bar.

*

When Shane saw me, he rushed to me, checked my face and arms for whatever reason, and asked if I was fine and what happened. I told him that I was meeting with a friend to hang out here, but he suddenly found himself sick, so he went back home. After asking me a few times if I was really fine and if that story was true, Shane sighed with relief, and told me that from his point of view, some guy had lured me god-knows-where to do god-knows-what. He was about to go out himself to look for me when I got back. I stopped myself from laughing at the idea of Merlin doing this kind of thing, but Shane looked really worried, so I thanked him profusely for his concern. He wrote down his phone number, and insisted that I put it into my own cell right now, with the name "999-Shane".

\- Now, if you ever found yourself in this situation again, you'll call me.

\- But I was not in 'this' situation!

\- Nevermind, you know what I mean. I won't let that happen.

\- Thank you, I appreciate it. I can't promise that I won't call the real 999 first though, but you'll be next.

\- Hmm, fair enough. So, what do you want to drink tonight ? Do you want to try another specialty made by your humble servant?

\- Please.

He knows me well now, he knows what I like. Yet, almost every time, his "specialties" are so weird, I can't even finish it so he offers me something more classic. It was no different this time, and I ended up with a virgin mojito made by a disappointed barman.

\- I swear, I thought this one would be good...

\- Did you  _ taste _ it Shane?

\- Well...

\- That's what I thought. Please,  _ please _ , next time, taste it first okay?

\- Okay," he sighed. "Wait, I have customers.

I like Wednesdays, because it's the day with the least customers. Of course, there's always 5 to 10 other people, but once they got their orders, Shane and I can basically talk like no one's there. I was wondering how I could bring the subject of Arthur on the table, without being obvious about it, when he came back with exactly the question I needed:

\- So, who's that guy you wanted to bring here? Your crush finally?

\- Come on, how many times will I have to say that today? He. Is. In. France!

\- Well, planes do fly. He could come and visit you, you know.

\- Yes, well, actually he plans to do so, maybe at the end of the year.

\- Great! In the meantime, who was this one? I prefer to know who I'll have to punch if you ever came here hurt.

\- He'll never -whatever... His name is Martin. I'll start over. Do you remember the guy I found on the shore of the lake?

\- How could I forget him? He's your second favorite subject to talk about, right after the french dude.

\- No no, number three. You forgot your love life.

\- Obviously. Because we're not flirting.

\- Not even close. Anyway, the guy from the lake, his name's Arthur, and did I ever mention that he's amnesiac?

\- Well, let me think... Yes, maybe two hundred times, something like that.

\- Oh. Sorry about that... Well in fact, he does remember who he is. But I’m the only one he said it to because it's not... Well he says he is Arthur, king of Camelot.

\- King of...?

Hello subtlety...

\- Yes, Arthur, the Round Table, Merlin, Excalibur and all that! I mean, I'm not an expert in the subject, but  _ he _ surely knows what he's talking about! Everything he told me is pretty specific, and as far as I know, it seems accurate! Well I haven't checked in every book on the subject, but... He thought that if he told that to the doctors, they would lock him up forever, so he just pretends to be amnesiac.

I observed Shane's reaction during all that, but I'm probably terrible at it because I only saw some very natural things. Disbelief, amusement, surprise... I kept telling him about Arthur, and then about that 'neighbour' Martin that Arthur mistook for his friend Merlin. At the end of it, my conclusion was that Shane is a very good actor and I'm terrible at analysing people's expressions, or he's sincere. As I am a trustful person, I tend to go with the second option even though I am probably also terrible at analysing people's expressions. The rest of the evening was quite nice, with me wondering how good Shane will look with an armor on, like the ones Merlin draws to show me how things were back then. I still don't have the intention of really flirting with him, but damn, my imagination went wild...

*

Arthur and Merlin spent the days after planning how they could make Shane remember who he was. I timidly said that maybe he was better as Shane, but Arthur looked at me with such severity and disappointment that I never mentioned it again. Finally, with lack of a better idea, we planned - as I got involved, I don't even know how - to make him meet Arthur and Merlin, and just see what happened, and ultimately, tell him who he was - who he had been at least. To be clearer, they asked me to lure him to my place, because they thought that doing this in public could be quite risky. What an understatement...

With much complaining, I texted Shane : "hi! I know monday’s your day off, so maybe you already have plans... but if you're free and you still want to meet Martin, I invited a few friends over on monday night, so..." I absolutely refuse Merlin checking my text, because I'm already awkward enough without an external opinion. Shane's reply came quickly : "what else than my boxing gloves should I bring? time/address?" I laughed before giving him the information, and a nice "jackass" too.

I forbid myself to be happy about the fact that he accepted the invitation so fast, because what we had planned for this evening was not exactly my idea of hanging out with friends. I still tried to make Arthur and Merlin understand how hard it could be for someone to be reminded of their previous life, but they were so caught up on the fact that they would meet their friend again that they stayed deaf. I spent the whole week-end stressing out about it. I was terrified that if things went south, I'll lose a friend. And honestly, I couldn't picture how on earth things could go well...

*

Monday after work, I picked Arthur and Merlin up with the doctor's blessing, as Merlin had assured him that everything would be fine... I rolled my eyes when I saw how the doctor looked at Merlin. Just like he was god on earth... Well in fact, maybe he's the closest thing after all. While waiting for Shane at home, I couldn't stop myself from rearranging every little thing, until Arthur used his harsh voice to say my name.

\- Anna ! Calm down now, you are making my head spin.

\- Sorry," I said, before sitting down next to him. "But I'm still unsure about that. If it doesn't work, that could end everything we tried to do. What if he goes to the doctor? Or the police?

\- I'll handle it," said Merlin from the kitchen.

\- You will  _ handle it _ ? Why am I not reassured by that?

\- I'll erase his memories of tonight, don't worry. He'll still be your friend.

\- You'll  _ erase his memories _ ? Don't  _ worry _ ? Well obviously, I feel so much better," I said, rolling my eyes.

I really want to say, 'saved by the bell', because indeed, Shane rang at this very moment. I weirdly had the feeling that I was about to introduce my boyfriend to my parents when I got by the door. I opened with the more natural smile I could put on, but it became real as soon as I saw Shane. He had brought flowers. He gave it to me without even putting his bike helmet on the floor:

\- You told me that your french guy won't be here, right? So I thought I could pretend to flirt with you so that creepy neighbour would back off.

\- But you won't really be flirting?

\- Of course not. This would be against home policies.

\- Right. I'm glad you're here by the way.

\- So, now that we have established that we won't flirt even outside of the bar, I still think we could be a little more friendly. Will you finally do that thing that you french people do when you meet a friend?

I probably blacked out a minute, trying to understand what he meant, because I heard an exasperated voice from the kitchen, where I hid Arthur and Merlin : "La bise! He means la bise!" said Merlin.

\- Oh ! Of course.

I blushed a little - because I was so stupid, or because I kissed Shane ? ANYWAY-

\- Come on in! So, this is my place, it's small but it's nice. Guys, come back here!

And then, magic happened again. Or something like that. Arthur and Merlin came back into the living room, awkwardly saying "hi", but Shane was already pale, wide-eyed and clearly shocked.

\- What the fuck... I gotta... how..." he stuttered. "I gotta go.

And he moved back to the door and ran away.

\- He remembered," muttered Arthur.

\- Yes," replied Merlin.

\- We must go and get him back," practically ordered Arthur.

\- You stay here," I said with anger. "I'll try to talk to him. You’ll give him space and time. I warned you. This would be a lot to take in for any normal guy, and what he went through last time doesn't qualify him to be normal. Do not move.

I ran after Shane - or Gwaine... - without looking back, and the lack of footsteps behind me told me that I had been obeyed. I thought I would have to search for Shane for a while, and probably have to call him, to at least hear his phone rang, but he was just across the street, sitting on the ground, his arms on his knees. When he saw me, he quickly wiped his cheeks and I pretended I hadn't seen it. I sat next to him, and waited.

\- So, your whole story about Arthur last week, what was that about?" he asked after a few minutes.

\- Merlin had just seen you, and he wanted to know if you remembered anything.

No more lies.

\- And what about you? Who are you? You're from back then too?

\- I'm still just Anna. From today. I'm sorry.

\- What for?

\- I tried to tell them that maybe you would be happier as Shane, but they would have done something, with or without me. I thought that maybe I could help ease the thing. I'm sorry I couldn't stop them.

\- Oh no, don't worry, I'm not totally at peace with all of this, far from it, but I know who I am now, and I'm glad I remember. All my life I had this hole or something, and now it's gone. It's just that there is a lot to process... I lived two lives, and I have to think about that. And you know, there also that the last thing I remember from back then is my death, so...

\- I can't say I understand... But if you need anything, I'll be there.

\- You mean, right here? On this sidewalk?" he said with a wink and a grin. I rolled my eyes and shoved him affectionately.

\- So, I never knew a lot about you, but now I know even less. Are you in the mood for sharing?

\- Actually, I better get going. I have a lot to think about, and I rather do that on my own.

He stood up, and continued:

\- Will I see you this wednesday, or maybe the next one?

I smiled, I can recognise a non-invitation when I hear one.

\- Maybe not this week then, but definitely the next one. In the meantime, I'm just one phone call away.

\- I know. This way I'll have a few days to practice my cocktail's skills.

\- YES PLEASE!

He put his helmet back on, still laughing, and left. I looked up, and obviously saw two shapes behind the curtains of my apartment. I rolled my eyes again, sighed, and went back home.

*

The week after, Shane texted me a lot. Asking me stuff about Arthur and Merlin. I offered to give him Merlin's number, so he could ask him directly, but he said he still needed some time. He still asked me to tell the King he was sorry about that, that once he would have it all figured out, he'll be there for him as always. Arthur nodded, even if I could tell he was a bit angry. I spent the week trying to make him understand how hard this could be.

\- What if one day you woke up with the memories of the life you could have had today? With family, friends, job, a whole life! A second life. Sha- Gwaine lived through that. You woke up as King Arthur, but last week he was still only Shane, the barman.

\- He said he remembers, why is he still not here with me? As a Knight? He swore an oath!

\- He'll be there, he told you he will. He just needs time! You needed time too, when you came back here! Don't you remember? Have you forgotten about all the days when I told you about cars, pictures, medicine, and just everyday life?

\- It is not the same thing, Anna! And do not contradict your King like that!

\- My King? MY KING? I'm really sorry,  _ your Highness _ , but I bow to no one. I don't have a King, I only have friends, or I thought. And you're right, it's not the same thing. You woke up in an entirely different world. Gwaine remembers another life he lived. A life where he died, too. And now he must rethink who he is. It's not his knowledge that is in question, like yours. It's him. Who he is. His personality, his likes and dislikes, his morality, his wishes, his principles... As far as we know, his two personalities might even be completely different! So you will give him all the time he needs. And you won't be mad at him for that. Right?

\- Or what?" he asked softly.

But there was no way I could get his tone wrong. I never saw him this mad.

\- Or nothing. You'll probably won't lose him, or me for that matter. We will probably forgive you. Like always. I have the feeling that everyone forgives everything you do. Because you're loved, and maybe you deserve it. But we deserve it too. We deserve your respect as much as you have ours. Sometimes, I have the feeling that you think you deserve our respect and our love, just because. When we, the rest of the world, have to  _ earn _ your love and respect. But one day,  _ my king _ , you'll realise that bit by bit, the respect we offered you without wanting anything in return will be gone. Because of little things like that. That's how things work. And may I add,  _ sire _ , you live here and today. Gwaine is a Knight, but now he is also a barman from downtown. You have to adjust yourself to that. You have to adjust yourself to things, instead of waiting for things to adjust to you.

\- You will not speak to me like that!" he yelled. But I saw he was out of arguments...

\- ... Or what?" I asked.

He did not answer, but watched me with furious eyes and turned his back on me.

\- Arthur? May I ask you something?" I said with a softer voice, trying to make peace.

\- What?" he said sharply.

\- Why exactly are you mad at him? Why would you want him to be there and ready so fast? A few days, is it really too much?

He sighed sadly, but didn't answer. I sighed back and left for work. Merlin called me 2 hours later, and tried to explain Arthur to me.

\- You know him, you know he cares," he began.

\- Yes, but maybe he could try to show it. Or say it!

\- It's his way... But he misses his friends, his life. That's why he was so excited about Gwaine, and now he's back, he really wants to see him. I think he believes that things could go back the way they were.

\- Then maybe it's better he realises soon that it's never going to be like that. Things are different nowadays,  _ you _ know it. Even if you and Sh- Gwaine agree to live like in the old days, it won't work. Ultimately, you will want to see other people, to live with the rest of the world, and behaving like a king won't be accepted.

\- But he is the King.

\- Yeah well, go say that at Buckingham... And also, Gwaine is not  _ just _ a knight anymore. It wouldn't be fair to stop him to live his life, as Shane if you want. That's also who he is, Merlin, and Arthur must put that inside this royal stubborn head of his.

I heard Merlin chuckle.

\- I can see why you got along so well with him… But yeah, maybe you're right... You still don't want to give us Gwaine's number?

\- Nope. But Merlin, you know where he works, if you truly wanted, you could go to him...

\- Maybe I think he deserves his last few days of freedom before having to bear his king again," he said, and I practically heard him smile.

\- Good point. I gotta go back to work, you'll handle Arthur?

\- Like always.

*

The next monday, I got a text from Shane, asking me to come the day after instead of wednesday as usual. He asked me to come alone though... Arthur was not happy about it when I told him, right before leaving the hospital on Tuesday, but I gave him my most severe look, and a "don't even dare". He sighed, threw his arms in the air and said "Girls!" while rolling his eyes. I laughed in victory, and left, very proud of myself. Before I got to the bar, Merlin texted me : "Anna 1 - 0 Arthur". I laughed again, and entered the bar. It was crowded. Since I found out about the deserted Wednesdays, I'd never seen the bar like that. There was even a barmaid with Shane, and they both seemed really busy. I managed to get close to Shane, and he winked at me. Five minutes later, he brought me a brand new cocktail.

\- I tasted it, I swear !" he announced, with a proud smile on his face.

\- Hello to you too," I said with a smile. "Have you been sick these past few days?

\- No, why?" he answered with a frown.

\- Just to be sure I can drink that.

\- Oy! That hurts!" he said, with an even brighter smile.

He then quickly explained that it was game night, but as soon as the game would be on, we could talk, as the other customers would all be in front of the screen. Indeed, as soon as the ball left the hand of the referee, I was left alone in the counter, with a tasty drink, for once. The cries were loud, but that was even better, because no one else could hear us. Even Shane's colleague watched the game. I waited for him to talk, and when he did, I was not disappointed.

\- So... I thought about all that, you know, about what you said too. If I would be happier as 'just Shane'.

I buried myself in my glass, not wanting to hear that I was wrong to let them involve him.

\- Don't worry, I'm still glad I remember. But I had to deal with two personalities, sort of.

\- I KNOW!" I yelled, probably louder than I wanted, but I kinda wished Arthur was there to hear that...

\- What?

\- No, it's just that I thought about it, unlike others...

He snorted, probably knowing who I was talking about...

\- Anyway, I'm lucky that I'm the same. I guess. It's still weird to think about my past, because I was twice a kid, that sort of thing.

Then he told me about his thoughts, about his parents - the four of them - his childhoods... We talked for the whole game, and he told me exactly what Merlin and Arthur had already told me. He misses his friends dearly, more than anything else from his present life. He still felt incomplete. But something was clearly keeping him from going back to them, and I knew he wanted to tell me. Suddenly, he asked:

\- What do you know about the other Knights?

\- Their names I guess? And the most known legends, and what Arthur and Merlin told me about you, some stories, some jokes. I know who died and when. Well, everyone died, but you know what I mean.

\- I really thought about what you said, you know," he said, basically going back to our first conversation. "And I think that if we find someone else, we have to make him remember. We owe that to ourselves. As knights. I'm sure that everyone would agree with me.

\- Shane? Is there something you wish to tell me?

\- No. Forget it," he said after a second of hesitation.

\- All right. But I'm here if you change your mind.

And then he told me about how he met Arthur, and Merlin, and every other Knight. He told me about how Merlin was really his first friend ever, and how he was special. At this point, I had to bite my lips to keep me from telling him how right he was - Merlin had asked me to keep my mouth shut about his magic. He mentioned how royal Arthur was, even if he could be an ass sometimes. I bit my lip again, but from laughing this time... When the game ended, the other customers started to leave. I watched as Shane's gaze lingered on the tall guy he told me about once. I smiled.

\- Soooo... What about him?" I asked, and Shane turned his head back to me so quickly I worried that he broke his neck.

\- What? Who?

\- Don't play dumb, I saw you watching the blond guy... I  _ know _ it's against home policies and all, but what if you met him outside of here? You know, by chance, or something...

\- No, it's not like that anymore.

\- Why? You don't think he's handsome anymore?

\- It's not that, it's just... I can't think of him that way now.

\- Oh. Something from the old days? It took me a while to explain those things to Arthur...

\- What?" he asked, confused.

\- You know, men and women equality, gay rights, those stuff," I said, bushing a little because it was embarassing enough to try to explain it to Arthur, hoping I wouldn't say anything wrong, but explaining that to someone directly concerned, still hoping I wouldn't say anything wrong, was way worse.

Luckily - or not - Shane burst into laughter.

\- Wait, you think I'm not gay anymore? That's it?

\- Well, hum, I don't know, maybe, you're probably still gay, but you could have had some archaic ideas from your old days..." I answered, because he clearly waited for me to talk and to embarrass myself a bit more.

\- Don't worry, I’m still very gay. To be honest, back then too, probably, I just didn’t know it was a… reel option.

\- Then, what's with him?" I asked, too happy to even slightly change the subject.

\- Well, you see that guy, currently surrounded with coworkers from the foundry, tall, blond, and rather handsome with his big smile?

\- Yes, of course, we've been talking about him for 10 minutes!

\- I was being theatrical, thank you for ruining the effect," he said, while I rolled my eyes.

\- So, what about him?

\- He's Percival.


	4. If the sky comes falling down, for you, there's nothing in this world I wouldn't do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one with my funniest line (what is your guess on which line it is ?)  
> And if you’re there, you already know who’s coming to join our little team

I choked on my drink and coughed for a solid two minutes before I could breathe normally again. I even saw a few customers looking weirdly at me, including this Percival. Shane laughed with false embarrassment and he patted my back a few times with a gentle and amused 'there, there'. I swore to make him pay in between my painful breaths. Once the guy was gone, Shane told me that he was the main reason why he didn't come back to Arthur earlier. He had to decide on his own if he would mention Percival, or if he’d leave him to his present life. I already knew his decision, as he had told me.

\- But you know, it was hard to realise that he was really there. Last time I saw him, I...

\- Yes?" I asked. He hesitated, it was clearly hard for him to think about this moment.

\- Last time I saw him, I was dying in his arms. He's the last thing, the last person I remember. Seeing him again, it's...

\- Well, maybe, with a fourth brain, we will come with a smoother idea to 'wake him up' than we did for you, don't you think?" I asked, and he snorted, taken back from his memories.

\- Yeah, probably. When can I come over?

\- If you want to meet them at my place, I'll have to ask Merl- no, Saturday, you'll have to wait until Saturday," I said.

I couldn't tell him that I would have to ask Merlin to bewitch the doctor again, to make him agree with Arthur coming out of the hospital on a weeknight... Shane raised an eyebrow but didn't push it. I kept talking.

\- But if you don't want to wait, I could tell you where to find them every other day, if they agree. But even then, if you want me to be there, it would be during lunch time.

\- Yeah, let's do this. You ask them, and I'll be there any day.

\- So, with or without me?

\- For my own health, I'll say with you. At least I'll have a witness if Barbie decides to end me.

I choked again, spraying him this time. I was still laughing when he told me that he had to close the bar. We parted in front of the bar, right after he kissed me in the cheek, and thanked me 'for being there'. I blushed a little, thankfully hidden by the lack of light around...

*

I waited until the next day's lunch to talk to Arthur and Merlin directly, despite Merlin's numerous text messages. When I joined them in the park, Arthur was pacing around the bench on which Merlin was sitting, fidgeting. When the King saw me, he rushed over to me.

\- Finally! Anna, what did he tell you? How is he? Is he still with us?

But despite his eager voice, I also felt a real concern. And I knew that his most important question there was about how his friend was.

\- Arthur, please, sit. I brought you sandwiches and water. It's my lunch break, I have to eat too.

And I unpacked really slowly. It _was_ a bit sadistic, I know that, but he had to understand that the world was not at his feet anymore. To be honest, I was still a little angry about how he reacted to the whole 'Shane is Gwaine' situation. Finally, I started to talk :

\- So, I went to Shane's bar yesterday, as he asked. He talked a lot. I'm not going to tell you everything he told me - no Arthur, don't look at me like that, it's called privacy and basic respect. Anyway, what I'll tell you, is that he wants to see you, he's ready now. He misses you a lot, and if you want to, he can come tomorrow, for lunch. Or if you prefer, he'll come Saturday at my place.

\- Why can't he come today? Right now?

\- Don't be so impatient Merl', he does have a job you know," I said, calling him Merl' on purpose to tease him a bit, as I know he's not fond of it.

\- Fine," he drawled, like the teenager he never was, or maybe a long, long, long time ago. And suddenly he spoke again : "I'll prepare the meal. We'll eat outside if that's ok.

I knew very well that he was not waiting for _my_ approval, and Arthur clearly knew it too as he simply nodded without even looking at us. He was not angry anymore, as it seemed, and was smiling instead.

He stood up and put his hands on his hips. It would have been a ridiculous move, made by anyone else, I swear. But he looked royal. I took a look at Merlin, and saw that he thought the same thing. The relief in Merlin's face every time Arthur did something like that was almost tangible. It was as he thought that at any moment, Arthur could vanish again, or forget who he was. I couldn't blame him though, he had waited so long...

I spend a few hours typing on my phone that evening, with Shane and with Merlin, trying to reassure them both, without telling them how the other felt... I lost count of how many times I rolled my eyes that night, but trust me, I did it too many times for the taste of my forehead's wrinkles. I didn't sleep much...

*

This thursday morning, I woke up late for work, with my phone at my side and a few unread messages, as I fell asleep sooner than the boys, apparently... I texted 2 short 'sorry gotta go to work see u at lunch' and rushed in the shower. I was not very efficient that morning... At noon, I practically ran to the hospital gates, to meet Shane. As soon as I saw him, it was clear that he was the kind of guy that could bear the lack of sleep better than me - it was not surprising though, I'm a sleepyhead. Anyway, he was as smiling as usual, not even the slightest circle under his eyes. I gave him a new lesson on 'la bise', as he really kissed my cheek again. Not that I complained, but I knew he was trying to do it the french way. As we walked in the park to meet Arthur and Merlin on our bench - we always sat at the same spot... - I asked him :

\- By the way, how do you want me - us - to call you?

\- What do you mean? Isn't 'jackass' enough for you?

\- Come on, seriously. You have 2 names now...

\- Well, I really can't imagine Arthur or Merlin calling me other than Gwaine, so... I guess you can choose then.

\- I don't know, it's weird... I met you as Shane, but Arthur told me so many things about you, and Merlin too now, that I can really picture you in a shiny armour...

Shiny? SHINY? What was that?? He raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly. I knew he would not forget it... I shrugged and kept talking:

\- Well, Shane, Gwaine, sounds the same to my foreign ears. I guess I'll call you '-aine'.

He was still laughing when we came near Arthur. He was once again walking back and forth, and stood still as soon as he saw Gwaine. I stopped walking, staying a little away from them. Witnessing, but for a distance as long as it was going well. Shane stopped laughing, his face suddenly very serious and even sad.

\- Gwaine," Arthur said calmly.

\- Arth- your majest-," Shane hesitated, then breathed deeply before saying : "My King.

And he knelt down in front of Arthur. That was not going to improve Arthur’s modesty...

\- I am so sorry for taking this long. I had to think about a lot of things, but my loyalty to you was never in question. I felt that between Merlin and Anna, you were safe. But the hardest thing was to dare facing you again. I have failed you, my lord. I betrayed you, and led you to your death. Anna told me you died, and all the legends I learned in school told me the same. I am responsible for that, and I can't call myself a knight anymore, but a traitor. I told Morgana where you were heading when you were injured. I've failed. I left everyone, Percival, you two, everyone. I failed you then, and I don't see why I won't today. So I'm here to say that I am deeply sorry for everything, but I can't stay near you. I'll do you more harm, despite my best intentions.

I didn't see that coming... He never told me anything like that! And I was standing there, wide-eyed, watching a friend basically explaining how worthless he was, and meaning it. I would not let that happen. But before I had the time to speak, Arthur took his most severe voice and said :

\- Gwaine. This is a disappointment.

I saw Gwaine's shoulders rounding up and his head lowering ever further.

\- Sir Gwaine, look at me," said Arthur, expecting his knight to obey - and he did.

\- You will stop this nonsense. You have not failed me, nor anyone else. You fought with me, with us, for Camelot. And you did not fail me, nor anyone else actually. Morgana tortured you to death, as I learned. There is no dishonor or failure in breaking under torture. You held information long enough for Merlin and I to escape, and we were not caught. You have not failed me.

\- But, you died... Anna told me..." said Gwaine, clearly taken aback.

\- I uhm did. But it was not by the hand of Morgana. It was already too late for me. But the amount of time you resisted her, gave _me_ time. This is all I could have wished at that moment. And for that Gwaine, I will be forever thankful. I am sorry you had to die for me. I surely hope this will not happen again. Raise, Sir Gwaine.

Slowly, he stood. He was watching Arthur with wide and sad eyes, but I read hope in them too now.

\- Sir Gwaine, you once swore to be at my side no matter what, and you never fail to keep that oath. It is my turn to swore to you, that no matter what, I will be at yours. This means that I trust you. Whatever decision you took, take, or will take, I will trust you. If you ever do something that appears to be wrong, I will know that your intentions will still be good. Do you agree with that? Do you still want to be at my side?

\- Yes! My Lord... I'll do anything... I'm so sorry...

\- Sir Gwaine! I do not want another servant. I already have one. Sort of," he added while rolling his eyes as I coughed not discreetly at all. "I do not want someone that will obey without thinking. I want a knight, someone who will think before acting, who will discuss my orders if it is needed, who will treat me as I was back then, or even better, as I should be treated today. I do not need a puppet, Gwaine, but I do need you.

\- My King," he answered, and he knelt down again, taking Arthur's hand. "I will not disappoint you. It is an honor. I'm sorry.

\- Stand Gwaine, and stop apologizing. I have to say that I never thought I could miss Gwaine the mocker...

Gwaine laughed while standing up, and said:

\- Oh don't worry Princess, if that's what you need, I'll always be there for you!

Merlin bursted into laughter, more because of the relief than of the joke itself. I smiled and joined him on the bench.

\- All right, I'm hungry. What's for lunch?" I asked, and I noticed that Merlin blushed a little.

\- Uhm.. Chicken, potatoes and apples. It was Gwaine's-

\- My favorite meal! Awesome!" he said, right on time. Merlin smiled brightly.

We ate happily, while Gwaine told us about his present life. At some point, he took a deep breath and said:

\- There's something else. Another reason why I didn't come back to you right away.

Arthur tensed, and Merlin looked at them both with worry. Gwaine looked at me, as if waiting for authorization, or confirmation perhaps. I nodded.

\- I know where Percival is. Or who he is, I don't know. Anyway, I know him.

*

Soon after that, I had to go back to work, so I left them to talk. It was almost 4pm when I got a text from Shane : "i owe u one." Because I'm unable to keep things serious with him, I replied :

A- "with every awful cocktail you made me drink ? make it a hundred"

S- "i stand corrected, lady anna. i owe you big time. seriously tho thank you"

A- "any time -aine"

S- "i'm at work now and the boss is here, stop flirting with me so obviously or i'll have to report u to him"

A- "jackass"

S- "wanker"

With a laugh, I left him to work. After that, I obviously joined Merlin in Arthur's room, as usual. They greeted me joyfully, and I noticed right away that Arthur's bad mood from the previous days was completely gone. If I needed anymore of a confirmation, he even apologized for his behaviour. Merlin stared at him with wide eyes and his mouth open, until Arthur said:

\- What is with your face Merlin? Did you see a pink elephant or something?

\- No no it's just... you apologizing...

\- Come on Merlin, I can see when I was wrong, and therefore apologize. It is not usual, but it can happen.

Merlin then proceeded to either die of laughter or choke with his drink. Arthur shrugged and asked me if a pink elephant was indeed the right animal for this expression. He then told me that they made up a plan for Percival, and they will need me. I had a bad feeling about it, and I was not disappointed...

*

I called Shane right after Arthur and Merlin finished explaining their plan, and I shouted at him :

\- WHY WHY HOW DID YOU GET THE IDEA THAT I COULD HIT ON HIM??? I won't be able to do that! I can't do that!

\- Well, you are basically flirting with me since we know each other, so what's the difference?

\- The difference is that if I do that with him, it would be to lure him into a _trap_ , it won't be natural at all.

\- But you told me he was handsome too, right?

\- It's not just about the look my friend... Plus, how do you know he will be receptive uhm? That's a game for two," I said, victoriously.

\- Come on Anna... He will.

\- How do you know ?

\- Because I see how everyone looks at you, and I have eyes too. The first times we spoke, I had a hard time refraining from actually hit on you, you know.

\- Well, I don't know how I should take this information," I said, because luckily, he couldn't see how red I was. "You saw me, and wanted to hit on me, then you knew me better, and didn't want to anymore? Thank you Sir Gwaine, how chivalrous of you," I said with the most exaggerated upset tone I could come up with.

\- No! That's not what I meant, come on... Once I knew you, I wanted to be your friend first, and then, maybe- that's not the point!!

\- Haha you're right about this. The point is that I will never be able to hit on him! But, as you extremely tactfully pointed out, I could probably befriend him, sort of.

\- Come on, don't be mad...

\- If you knew me as much as you'd like to imagine, you’d know I can't get mad. Anyway, I'll find a way with Percival. Without flirting!" I added as I heard him laugh. "When do you think he'll be at the bar?

\- Probably tonight, there's another big game.

\- Great...

\- Haha, brace yourself Lady Anna, as the tavern will be filled with loud and boorish peasants! Succeeding in your mission will only cover you with more glory!

\- That's a relief," I said while rolling my eyes. "I was seriously lacking glory.

\- I bet you were. Come at 8, he'll be there.

I hung up and left Arthur and Merlin, who were both still laughing because of what they understood of the conversation. They wished me luck in between laughter. I arrived at the bar earlier than what Gwaine told me, as I wanted to be there when Percival would come. The bar was already crowded and Gwaine's coworker was there too. Gwaine winked at me and gave me a classic mojito. I sat in a corner, away from the big screen and the loud crowd. When Percival came in, I saw Shane pointed him with his head, and I rolled my eyes. Honestly, how could I miss him? The guy was the tallest here... I observed him the most discretely I could. He said hi to a few other customers and went to the bar. He looked behind as if he were searching for someone, and he smiled brightly and blushed a little when he saw the barmaid. I smiled too; I had a plan. A terrible, awful plan, but a plan nevertheless.

*

I kept watching him as discreetly as I could all evening. I spent some time talking with the barmaid too, who was clearly surprised that I didn't only speak to Shane. I poorly made up the excuse that now that I know him, maybe I should 'change my favorite barman'. Luckily, she laughed... She was kinda nice, but not very interesting and she had some opinions that made me cringe. At some point, I noticed that Percival was looking at her, so I asked her what she thought about 'that tall blond guy' over there. She looked at him and I saw him quickly turn back his head to his friends, and he blushed a little. She said that he looked nice but he was clearly too common for her, as she needed 'someone who would take care of _all_ of her needs', she said with a wink and a nudge... I pretended to find that funny. But it was perfect for my plan: I told her that I fancied him, and asked her to give him my number. I wrote it down, with the letter A, so it didn't feel like lying, as the barmaid's name was Ashley... She laughed and agreed to help me. A bit later, she passed near him and openly placed the folded paper in front of him. She even winked at him. I rolled my eyes, and hoped that he wouldn't resent me for giving him false hopes... He left shortly after, and I saw him smile timidly toward the barmaid. I hoped it would work...

*

Indeed the next morning, I got an unknown call. I excused myself to my coworkers and I picked up.

\- Hi?

\- He-hello, it's Jesse. Hum, I hope I'm not disturbing you...

\- Jesse?" I asked.

It was not the phone call I expected. A small silence, then it hit me. Percival. Shane told me at some point what his name was, but I kept calling him Percival…

\- Yes! Jesse! Yes! Oh I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting you to call so soon, that's uhm...

\- Oh I can call another time if you want..." he said, clearly embarrassed.

\- No!! No, I'm sorry it's just- I'm glad you called so soon! I was not sure if you would, that's all," I painfully said.

I hoped I wouldn't make any grammar mistakes, as Ashley probably wouldn't...

\- Oh, great then... So how are you?" he asked, relieved.

\- Fine thanks! What about you? You're not at work?

\- I took a break to call you, I hope I'm not waking you up?

\- No no, don't worry, I'm at work too.

\- This early? I thought the bar didn't open until 11:30...

Fuck.

\- It's... inventory." What a laborious conversation... "By the way, I have to go back, but what do you do monday night? I won't work, and I invited a few friends over. I know there is no game," well, it was what Gwaine had told me... "so what about you come too?"

\- Oh well, uhm, I don't want to ruin your party, I wouldn't know anyone...

\- You'll know me. Come, please..." For the umpteenth time, I cursed myself for my lack of a better idea for this trap...

\- All right, I- I'll come.

\- Great! I'll text you the address. I gotta go now, sorry! I can't wait to see you! Bye!

And I hung up without waiting for his answer. My heart was beating so fast and I definitely hate myself. I created a group conversation with Gwaine and Merlin, and I texted :

A- "percival will come over on monday. i hate you. you will pay for what you made me do to him. if he ended up hating me, that's on you and you WILL tell him that it's not my fault. tell that to King 'the-ends-justifies-the-means' too"

M- "Arthur said that he doesn't see the problem. I say sorry"

A- "of course Mister Perfect doesn't see the problem. it would have been him, everything would have gone smoothly, without any misunderstanding... tell him i had to pretend to flirt with him to attract him at my house. i don't know about the old days, but we don't do this sort of things today"

M- "he still doesn't see the problem"

A- "he's a pain in the ass"

G- "will u stop texting so early in the morning? some of us work late at night and don't need to be awake by some sort of conjugal fight. get a room and please, far away from me so i could sleep"

A- "too bad i have to get back to work, or it would be my pleasure to keep you from going back to sleep"

G- "fuck you too m'lady"

I laughed and really got back to work.

*

The following days, Arthur and Merlin had a hard time restraining themselves from going to the bar and meet Gwaine, but it was too much of a risk. Percival could be there too. We surely hoped not, because it could cause some kind of misunderstanding with the barmaid, but Gwaine quickly reassured us: he had agreed to work one shift more than usual, so she wouldn't come back until after monday. He told us that Percival came back on friday and saturday night, clearly looking for someone... I felt terrible... But so did Gwaine.

He came to my place on Saturday and Sunday before work, and the four of us talked a lot. At some point, he offered to help me with the groceries, and we went out. We took a longer way to the store and back, and he told me again how he was feeling about seeing Percival everyday. It reopened his wound, but furthermore he was scared of how Percival would react... Arthur had woken up like he never died, Merlin too - that's what Merlin had told him, despite the obvious discrepancies in the story... - and he died himself in this war. Percival was the first one who had had another destiny.

Merlin had secretly told me that Percival had died a few years after Arthur and Gwaine, in battle. He passed away in service of Camelot, and had helped save the Queen. But it was indeed something to be anxious about. How would he react to see his old -dead- friends? I added to my own trouble the fact that the poor guy will probably hate me. But that was a really selfish thought so I didn't talk about it too much.

On monday, I joined Merlin and Arthur at my place. The doctor had obviously accepted that Arthur would spend the night out. Gwaine was waiting for me in front of the building, sitting down right where he did the first night he came here. When he saw me, he stood and joined me. He shoved my shoulder with a small "hi" and we joined Arthur and Merlin.

We basically spend the following hours talking about the weather, making lame jokes and suddenly going quiet, each lost in thoughts. Until the bell rang. We had agreed that Gwaine would open the door. As Ashley's coworker, it would not be weird for him to be there. So I stepped away, leaving Arthur and Merlin alone in the middle of the room. The composition was so traditional, it felt like a painting. Arthur was in the middle of the room, right in front of his seat. Merlin was standing at his left, a step behind. We heard Gwaine open the door, and he hid his emotion behind a false surprise:

\- Oh hi man! How are you? I didn't know you would be there!

\- Uhm sorry, maybe I should go...

\- What? Quit it, if you're here, it's because you're invited. Come on in, everyone’s in the living room.

I kept my eyes on Percival, to witness the second he would remember. At least, if things went the way it did for Shane. Well, it did. As soon as poor Jesse saw Arthur, or Merlin, or maybe the two of them together, I saw his eyes open wide. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, like he wanted to say something but couldn't decide what. I couldn't blame him... He almost fell, grabbed his head with his hands, shook it, looked at the guys again, saw me, seemed puzzled, looked at Arthur, Merlin, then Gwaine, seemed scared or even terrified, and anxious, and finally he left. Arthur raised his hands in the air, mumbling "Again? Why?!" and he went by the window to watch what would happen outside. He crossed his arms. I raised an eyebrow and looked at Merlin and Gwaine, who actually looked at me, as they were expecting something from me.

\- What?

\- Well, you did miracles with me so maybe..." said Gwaine, barely embarrassed.

\- Come on! He probably hates me!" I said, annoyed, but I still grabbed my keys and my phone, and ran outside to try to catch Percival up.

I didn't find him as easily as Gwaine, so I called him and indeed heard his phone rang. I found him in the park nearby. He was sitting on the floor beside an empty bench. I sat next to him on the bench. He looked at me with empty eyes, like he couldn't stop his thoughts. Actually, it was more like very, very sad eyes.

\- Uhm, hi... My name is Anna. I'm a friend of the guys there, and of yours too, if you want me to... I am very very sorry, but the number you got in the bar the other day was mine. It was me over the phone. We were not smart enough to find another way. Can I stay here?

He nodded absently.

\- If you have questions, maybe I can answer them. If not, that's cool too, we can just stay there.

He opened his mouth, but changed his mind and nodded again. We indeed stayed there for a while. Half an hour I would say. Percival didn't move much. From time to time he raised his head and watched in the direction of my apartment, and sometimes he briefly looked at me. He shook his head a few times too, probably in disbelief. Finally, he spoke up.

\- So, who are you?

\- My name is Anna," I repeated. "I'm a friend of-

\- No, I mean, _who_ are you? I don't recognise you. Wait, what do you know about them?" he asked, as he stood and came close to me, almost threatening.

\- Wow, easy, I'm not a threat... I'm nobody, I mean, no one from back then. I'm just a girl from now. But I happened to know about you, and them, about your previous lives. I know your name, Percival, and theirs. I know your history. Well, just what they told me, but...

\- So, the King, Merlin, and Gwaine? That's all?

\- For now actually... Nothing is impossible apparently!

\- Since when?

\- Arthur's here for 8 months, Merlin had joined us 3 months ago, and Gwaine, uhm, we 'woke him up' 2 weeks ago," I said, and I heard him sighed when I said Gwaine's name.

He sat down next to me and stayed silent for a while, then asked:

\- How do you believe all that? I barely do, and I lived it.

\- Honestly? No idea. I've been asking myself that for the past 8 months. Maybe it's something like faith, or magic, I don't know.

\- How is that even possible?

\- That I believe you?

\- No, _that_ , me, them, being here, be alive! I died, I remember! Arthur too, and Merlin disappeared! And Gwaine, he- I was...

\- I know," I all but whispered.

\- What?

\- He told me about the last time you saw him, that you were there when...

\- I was not just _there_ you know... He died right in front of my eyes, hell, he died _in my arms_! I'll never forget - well, clearly I did, but I'll never forget that again. He died convinced that he had failed me, failed Arthur and Camelot. I didn't even get the chance to prove him wrong. I'm-" he said, before shutting up suddenly.

I let him to his thoughts a minute or so, then asked:

\- You're what?

He frowned, trying to remember what he was saying, then he whispered, with all the sadness of the world:

\- I'm not even sure, I don't even know if he did fail... I mean, I was convinced, and I still am, that what he only sped things up, at worst, but I don't even know that. And the really weird thing is that I'm worried once again about that. I should be worried about work tomorrow, or about this girl from the bar. But suddenly I don't even care...

\- If you want my opinion, that's for the best. She's not worth your attention," I said, a bit sharply.

Percival turned his head towards me, and he laughed. It was so unexpected that I jumped on my seat, which only made him laugh more. I joined him timidly, before trying to ease his pain.

\- Gwaine didn't fail anyone. He was very much sure that he did, but Arthur told him the opposite. I won't give you the details, they will, but be sure that no one failed Arthur that day. What happened could not have been prevented, and he knows that. Gwaine, I'm not sure that he is convinced yet, but he stayed with us. He was the one who recognised you, obviously, and he took the decision to tell Arthur about you. I think he's still terrified that you could be mad at him because of that. He doesn't regret remembering everything, so he hopes you won't. I'm sure he could help you with the process of, you know, having to deal with both of your lives...

\- Why are we here?" Percival suddenly asked.

\- I have no idea at all.

\- Why do I even trust you so easily..." he rhetorically asked, sighing.

\- I'm irresistible.

He chuckled, and shoved me.

\- Thanks uhm...

\- Anna.

\- Anna, yes, sorry, thank you. So, you know them now, right? Do you know if they have changed?

\- I sure hope so! Arthur has still a lot to learn about modern behaviour, but he'll get by. But I know what you mean, and I have no idea. They don't seem too much disturbed by any of their actions, so I guess they haven't changed much.

\- I have to pay my respect to the King.

\- Wow easy now. Just so you know, I've tried to teach him some humility and modern behaviour, don't you ruin everything by kneeling like the others, will you?

\- Haha I can't make promises I won't keep.

\- Oh god, another one of them..." I muttered. "You want to go _now_?

\- The sooner the better.

\- Are you sure you're hum ready? I mean, you don't need more time to adjust?

\- I do, but I still have to go see him.

\- All right then, let's go.

I stood quickly, and he followed me. We walked side by side, and I got the time to really realise how tall he was... He looked really concerned, but every time our eyes met, he smiled reassuringly, like if I was the one facing a challenge... I sneered, and he raised an eyebrow.

\- I was just thinking about what they told me about you. You _really_ are a great guy.

\- Oh you had a doubt?" he said, laughing.

\- No, I meant, you _are_ a really great guy.

\- Haha well done," and he laughed even more while pushing my shoulder.

I had trouble keeping my balance...

Once we got to the door, I asked him if he wanted me there, because at some point, I would have to go get the pizza. He told me he would manage, and kissed me on the cheek. I blushed, luckily the corridor was dark, and he thanked me before entering my apartment. I stood there for a solid minute, before shaking my head, rolling my eyes at my own futility, and really went to get the food.

*

When I got back, my arms practically burning from the heat of the 7 huge pizza boxes, it was quiet in there, but as soon as they heard me, I saw four heads coming my way and grabbing the boxes with great sighs of relief.

\- Yes!

\- Foooood!

\- What took you so long ?" and this one, obviously, was Arthur.

I rolled my eyes again. Honestly, if I ever see the back of my head, it will be because of him.

\- I'm deeply sorry, _my lord_ , for taking so long to get _your_ food. Maybe next time you'll go by yourself and give me a break, okay?

He muttered something to himself but didn't answer. I still got rewarded by Percival's impressed look and Gwaine's laugh. Merlin winked discreetly at me and took a slice. The rest of the night was nice and quiet. Percival told us about his life, and Arthur about the past 8 months. Once again, how and when Merlin got back stayed blurry, but given how all of this was weird, nobody questioned it. I didn't talk much, but observed - plus, I had a rough day at work, and I was tired... I watched Gwaine joking and laughing all night long, in an excellent mood. But he still seemed worried every time he looked at Percival, and never met his eyes. Percival was smiling timidly, but laughed at every joke. He didn't look voluntarily at Gwaine either, so I thought I'll have to do something about it if they didn't work it out themselves...

Arthur was in a great mood too, and really behaved well, in terms of 'modern/old' conduct. When he told Percival about how he got back, he insisted on how I had helped him greatly. Gratitude, that felt nice. Merlin was mainly silent, but I knew he was happier than ever before. Or at least happier than he probably had been for a very long time - except the day he found Arthur here.

When I felt that I was not following the conversations anymore, I went to bed. When I woke up in the morning, Arthur was asleep in his seat, Merlin was curled up next to him on the floor, and Gwaine and Percival were sleeping on the couch too. I took a shower and prepared some coffee, hoping that would wake them up. Gwaine got up first, and proceeded to wake the others. I grumbled that I was not a morning person, and since they are all grown-ups, they could manage breakfast. Arthur had the habit since way before Gwaine got here, and he and Percival watched their King preparing his own breakfast with wide eyes. When Arthur realised that he was being watched, he yelled a loud 'what?' that got Percival to dive into his bowl, while Gwaine and Merlin laughed their asses off. Arthur got mad at them, but it was so obvious that he was just pretending that even Percival joined the others at teasing the King about his new behaviour.

I reluctantly had to take Arthur from his friends, to bring him back to the hospital. On our way, he didn't say much, until suddenly:

\- Do you think the doctor will be fine if I ask him to leave the hospital?

\- You mean definitively? The problem won't be the doctor, he'll do whatever Merlin will ask... But he'll have a few other people to convince, like probably a judge or something... And if you want to stay with him, I think the doc told me they'll have to investigate him, and I don't know what they'll find.

\- That is why I thought I could live with you.

\- What?

\- I am certain that it will not be difficult to convince the doctor or the judge that you are a good person without magic, and that I will not risk anything with you.

\- That's... unexpected...

\- Would you agree?

\- Yes! Yes of course! Honestly I don't know why you're still there, I mean despite the whole amnesia thing... But if I'm ready to 'take care of you', I don't see why they would refuse. You want me to talk to the doc?

\- I will do it myself, thank you.

\- No problem. If you need me, just text- oh boy, we really have to find you a phone...

\- That could be a great idea, yes. I would prefer that you scold me directly rather than having to hear Merlin passing the message while trying to not laugh," he said, with the most serious voice ever, even if his eyes were smiling.

\- As you wish, my lord," I said, laughing too.

He frowned, suddenly confused.

\- Is it not something from a movie you made me watch?

\- Oooo you could not make me happier... Princess Bride, one of the first movies we watched. Maybe not a great idea to start with that in fact...

\- Ah yes, I recall. The peasant who became a pirate, right?

\- Not really how I would summarize it, but still true. I have the book by the way, if you want to read it too.

\- They made a book and a movie about the same story?

\- If only you knew... Yes, that happens, and sometimes, it's a masterpiece. Some other times, not so much.

And after a whole discussion about that subject, which ended in me promising him - with great pleasure - to show him books and movie adaptations for him to compare, we finally got to the hospital. I ran at work while he went back to his wing.

*

Two weeks later, I got a call from the hospital, inviting me to a meeting to 'discuss the future of M. Doe'. I talked to Merlin about it, and I asked him a lot of questions about how to behave in order to convince them I was a good person. I only asked him because he had lived a few lives... He smiled and told me not to worry, that I'll impress them, just by being myself. "Be true to yourself, be honest, everything will be alright" he said with great confidence. I didn't know if he said that because he trusted me, or maybe because he'll be there, hidden, during the meeting, ready to 'influence' any sceptic...

When I got there, through the transparent doors, I saw the entire hospital board in the room with Arthur, including my own big big boss... According to their clothes, some judges or lawyers were there too. It was extremely comforting and calming. Or not. I was terrified to be honest... Arthur soon exited the room. He smiled at me and tried very very awkwardly to give me a thumbs up. He muttered that everything was fine, and invited me in, with a small bow like everytime he holds a door to a woman. He stayed outside though.

I spend the next half-hour basically selling my soul. Or that's what I felt. I got out almost convinced that adopting a kid would be easier (obviously not, but you know...), but at least I answered every question honestly without doubting. They had told me that they'll think this case through, and that we will soon have an answer. I indeed got a letter from the hospital 3 days after that. It was not the right period for my pay cheque, so I ran back to my car, and drove to the hospital. Once I got there, I quickly texted Merlin : "if you're not there, meet me at Arthur's, i think i have the answer (or it's my paycheck in advance...)" Of course, he joined me even before I entered the building. I showed him the sealed envelope and he nodded. As soon as I entered Arthur's room, I gave it to him. He stood suddenly, dropped his book and ripped the mail open. We saw him barely read the letter, as he was looking for specific information.

\- Dear Miss blah blah blah, your demand about blah blah the conclusion is blah blah wait! _The conclusion of the board and the judges is to entrusted you with the responsibility of M. Doe Arthur for a year. After this time, a reassessment will be conducted, in order to definitely consider M. Doe as completely independant and_ blah blah. That's it. This means I'm free right?" he said, and to be honest, it was the first time I heard him using contractions.

\- I guess so, allow me..." said Merlin, reaching out for the letter.

Once Merlin had finished, he confirmed that it was good news, and passed me the letter. I carefully looked for any conditions but everything was clear. The only thing was a monthly visit to the doctor, but everything else was allowed - except leaving the country, I'll have to wait to make him visit France, that's all! In 5 days, Arthur will be free to do whatever he wants without having to ask first. That worries me a bit, but between Merlin, Gwaine, Percival and I, we'll manage!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget that I basically feed on people's attention, and the smallest comment will feed me for days <3  
> But comment or not, if you managed to read through this, I LOVE YOU !!!


	5. Death, won’t you spare me over ‘til another year?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When we learn that this man’s immortality is not just a joke. Who you ask ? You’ll see...
> 
> (the title is scary but do not worry, nothing bad is happening. It's just that I have poor titles-naming skills)

It had been 3 weeks since Arthur moved in. He didn't really like the fact that he had to sleep on the couch in the living room, but Percival, Gwaine and Merlin assured him that their apartments were even smaller than mine. I was not sure it was entirely true, but I understood their reasons, so I just smiled and kept my mouth shut. For Arthur's 'moving-in' party, Merlin had brought a phone, finally, and spent a few hours teaching him how to use it. Arthur is such a quick learner... Now we have a lot of different group conversations, it's sometimes hard to follow, and my phone is always set on silent mode, but it's really, really fun. Merlin told us that he was looking for a bigger place, so maybe Arthur will move there. But that Thursday, it was a field day. Gwaine, Percival and I didn't work that afternoon, and we intended to go to the sea. It would be a nice change for Arthur, I think he got tired of the lake. We were waiting for Percival in front of his building, when we saw him running toward us. He stopped right in front of us, out of breath, and he leaned forward, his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.

  
\- Wait... wait... I'll... I saw... wait...

  
\- Easy pal," said Gwaine with a pitiful face, tapping gently on his friend’s shoulder, "you'll live.

The second day after we 'woke' Percival up, him and Gwaine talked about what had happened the last time they saw each other. When they told me about it together, they didn't share every detail - but they surely did it separately through many many texts... Anyway, they are now closer than ever, Percival is really protective of Gwaine, and Gwaine pays great attention to his friend. He is not in any way attracted to Percival anymore - _brother_ is the more common word they use to define each other...

\- It's just that..." attempted Percival, before giving up with a wave.

He sat down and reached out for something. A bottle of water appeared out of nowhere in Gwaine's hands, and he passed it to his friend. Arthur seized the opportunity :

\- You are out of practice my friend. All of you I guess... We will have to train again.

\- Just FYI, it's a big no for sword-training at my place," I said. "Plus, I don't even know where to find some.

\- This era is definitely boring... What kind of weapon do you have?

\- The kind you saw in some movies. The loud small black things called 'guns'. And that's an even bigger no. To be completely honest, you'll have to kill me first for that.

\- Maybe weapon training won't be necessary right now," said Merlin, always trying to calm things down between Arthur and I.

We both stared at each other with dark eyes, until Percival stood and spoke up.

\- Uhm...When I got back from work, I remembered something. I told you before that I was almost certain that I had seen Leon somewhere, but couldn't remember where or when. Well, today is the first day since September when I came back home early, and I saw him... I walk in front of a school every day, and he works there, he's a teacher I guess. That's why I haven't seen him this summer, and I couldn't remember him because I’ve never really talked to him, except a smile and a wave occasionally...

\- We should probably wait a bit before going to see him, at least until the kids are gone.

\- Waiting, always waiting. Why can I not go where I want, when I want to? I am the King!

\- Don't count on me to pay your bail," I muttered.

Gwaine had to turn around to laugh a bit more discreetly, and Percival smiled softly. He said:

\- I'm sorry my King, we can't go inside of a place filled with kids. Our era is... We had some bad events, and the kids and the important places are very protected. It's not just you, it's everyone.

Arthur shrugged and nodded pensively.

\- When will we be able to see him then?

\- According to my experience, it is nice to do that privately, so maybe we can find a way to attract him at Anna's? I wonder how could anyone attract a _man_ at a _woman_ 's place..." Gwaine said with a wicked smile.

\- Noooooo, no no no no no. Definitely no. I scammed Percival because _you_ all made me, but this time, we'll find another way, okay?

\- Actually, I thought about it, and I have something," offered Percival.

\- Thank god...

\- You can still call him Percival you know," whispered Gwaine.

Arthur chuckled, much to everyone's surprise, even his in fact. I just began to understand modern humor... He cleared his throat and said:

\- So, what is this bright idea?

*

The next day, Percival texted us that he had managed to meet Leon - whose name was currently Aaron - and that after an awkward conversation, he had invited him to 'a party at a friend's' tonight. Gwaine complained because he wouldn't be there to welcome Leon back, but we promised to bring him at the bar if he felt like it. I bought some chinese food, for a change. It's always so funny to watch Arthur trying to use chopsticks while grumbling against Merlin who uses them perfectly - thanks to some years he secretly said he spent in Asia a few decades ago. Right on time, someone rang at the door. As I was the official host this time, I opened and didn't even have to pretend I didn't know the guy.

\- Hello?

\- Hi, uhm... I'm Aaron uhm, is Jesse here?

\- Oh, you're the teacher, right? Nice to meet you! I'm Anna, your host tonight," I said with a smile and a -hopefully not too awkward- curtsey.

\- I hope it's not too weird that I'm here...

\- Come on, why does everyone think that... Any friend of Perc- Jesse is a friend of mine, and the more the merrier, right?

\- Thank you then! But I'm really sorry, I came empty handed... I came right from work and I had a meeting with the parents so I didn't have the time to make a stop.

\- Oooo the ultimate reason why I'll never envy you... The 'meeting with the parents'... You're brave, Aaron, braver than I’ll ever be.

\- Oh come on," he said, laughing.

\- No no, I mean it! But we're not gonna spend the night here, come on in, there's a few people here already, including Jesse.

And I led him to the living room, where the composition was even more 'classic painting' than the last time. I swear, they didn't need any sword or armour or throne to look more regal and knightly than that. Arthur even had some kind of crown made by a ray of light... I felt a powerful roll of eyes coming, but I didn't have the time, as Aaron gasped suddenly. He had seen them... and recognised them too.

\- My Lord!" he said, and he bowed immediately. I still noticed that his forehead and his eyebrows were frown, and he had an expression that clearly showed that he was lost.

\- Rise, Sir Leon. Come here. I am really happy to see you here," said Arthur.

\- Me too Sire, me too," Leon drawled, confused.

He was looking at all of us, slowly, like he was trying to understand what was happening. Arthur realised it too and sighed, before turning towards me.

\- Anna? Will you...?

And I saw Merlin and Percival looking at me, expecting something. I rolled my eyes -again.

\- What? Am I a shrink or something? So that's it, you're gonna give me every confused knight to fix up? Not that I’m complaining though, but maybe you're more able to do it yourself, no?" I asked, but given the silence I got in return, I said: "...No. All right then... Aaron, follow me, we've got a lot to talk about, since those cowards here won't do it themselves.

I obviously said that as a joke, but the confused knight frowned at me, almost offended, yet he still followed me diligently. Apparently, it's very easy to control a very very lost person... I thought about Arthur, the first day, when he too followed me to the hospital, despite me being a stranger, and all the weird things he was seeing for the first time. Anyway, I took Aaron to the roof (Merlin had 'found' the keys last week). Once we were seated, and given how he had reacted quickly, I decided to be much more direct than I had been with the others.

\- Leon?

\- Yes M'lady?" he answered automatically.

\- No need to call me that you know, I'm not a lady, even by the old days criteria. I told you already, but given what just happened, maybe you have forgotten it: my name is Anna. I'm a friend of Arthur and the others and I'm here to help you - apparently. Is there anything you want to ask me right now? I mean, if you want to talk at all...

\- I don't know," he said after a few seconds. "I don't even know where to start...

\- I do, if you want?

He nodded, so I told him about how Arthur got back, about Merlin, Gwaine and Percival. I told him that they were really happy to see him again, that he was missed; I told him a few stories involving him that Arthur told me, heroic ones. I also told him that Gwaine said he was sorry for not being there. And I told him other stuff, about me, about them, about anything really.

At some point, he sighed heavily, and spoke. He told me his previous life. From the beginning to the end, like he was trying to remember it himself. I learned that he died at an old age, after the queen that he had deeply mourned. He had a wife - that died before him too - and kids, and talking about them clearly made him sad. He talked for a really long time, remembering things, adding stuff to stories he had already told me, comparing his knight years to his current years, realising how weird it would be for him to relive his youth after being so old... It was freezing outside, and I was shivering but I didn't want to interrupt him. Leon didn't even seem to realise how cold it was until he heard the clattering of my teeth. He stood up suddenly and gave me a hand to help me do the same.

\- I'm very sorry, I was being rude. You're cold, and the King must wait for me.

\- Don't worry, I'm fine," I tried to say through my frozen lips. "And the King could wait a few hours more, if you need. He's not made of sugar.

\- ... What?

\- Uhm... like he's not going to melt? He's not delicate, that's what I meant. He can bear a delay. And if he can't, he should learn to.

\- So he hasn't changed," I heard Leon say, so low I was sure he didn't mean for me to hear it. But he was smiling now, as if this very thought had brought him joy.

\- So, do you want to go back now ?" I asked as though I didn't hear him.

\- Let's go," he answered, and he took a deep breath.

*

The night was still young when we got to Gwaine's bar. Leon and the others had talked a bit, but when he had mentioned he could use a drink, Percival took the opportunity to take us to Gwaine. We got in my car, all tight up because my small car is not made for 4 huge men. The road was empty so we arrived 15 long and quiet minutes later. I would say this little trip was the definition of awkward, and I was relieved when I kicked them out in front of the bar, promising them I was going to find a place to park my car. I stayed double parked long enough to witness the moment when Gwaine would see Leon, and their hug was warm, as I expected. When I got back, I entered the most crowded bar I've seen in awhile. That was why I never came on fridays... I sighed and tried to meet my friends. Once I had my drink and was in that state of watching without participating in any conversation because I couldn't hear anything, I started to notice that the boys had a certain effect on the people around. Even the 'Jesse's too common for me' barmaid watched Arthur with greedy eyes... I knew Gwaine had his admirers - that he repeled with a very clever strategy: when it's a girl, he say he's gay, and when it's a boy, he says he's straight; I never understood how nobody could put two and two together and realise how bi he was... But anyway, now it was the other ones too. I tried to look at them with strangers eyes, and I realised that them being together added a real chivalrous aura to each one. Individually, they were handsome. Together, they were the most handsome men ever... I drank too fast, to avoid blushing, or maybe to explain why I would have blushed. After that, I spent the night giggling, laughing at jokes I didn't hear for most of them, and I definitely avoided drinking alcohol... At some point, my mind drifted away from the bar, and I started to imagine the guy I have a crush on here with the knights, in some kind of armor, laughing and arguing and fighting with them just for fun...

\- Anna?

\- Don't worry, she's in France," I recognised Gwaine's voice.

\- What?" I said, actually back from my wild wild wild imagination, where Alex - the crush - was starting to take off his armor...

\- Back from his arms, aren't you?" asked Gwaine, in a very good and teasing mood.

\- How do you know?" I said, while hitting his arm hard enough to actually hurt myself.

\- I know _you_ , and I know that every time I have to go take care of a customer, when I get back to you, your only subject is him. It doesn't take a genius to understand that you've been thinking about him every time you make that face.

And with that, he left with a beer for someone at the other end of the counter. That obviously left me with 4 teasing guys who wanted to know everything about him... I'd be lying if I said that it was not an amazing night.

*

Leon included himself well in our routine. After work, he was coming to my apartment where Arthur, Merlin and Gwaine spent their days. Everyone basically lived at my place, except when they wanted to sleep. It was a problem because I only have one bedroom, and my crowded living room was too small for 5 giants and me. So we spent time out, we finally got to the sea, and we took Arthur to a movie. The group conversations on my phone were wilder than ever, now that Arthur had a phone and Leon was around. It went from very serious discussions about the old Camelot, about the kingdom's destiny or the reason of their presence here and now to jokes about Arthur's modesty, Merlin's skills or Gwaine's love life. Or mine... I'm basically everyone confident, they ask me for advice or tell me how they feel. I don't really know how it ended up like that, because I'm not good at giving advice, but I'm a good listener, maybe that's all they need. Arthur's texts are really funny. We spent a lot of time convincing him that he doesn't need to sign every text with his name, even less with his full title. He always uses perfect ponctuation, and still no contractions. Gwaine's texts are exactly the opposite, and I often need translation... I'm pretty sure that Arthur needs it too, but he pretends to understand. Percival is still the sweetest and he always arrives with his hands full. Usually it's food, but sometimes it's a movie, or flowers. Leon is more discreet, but he laughs a lot. He often brings work home, and reads his pupils' works while listening to us. Arthur follows the history program, and Leon's a great narrator so we oftenly all end up listening to him.

Sometimes I hear Merlin chuckles during those history lessons, and Arthur always shut him up. When that happens I wave at Merlin and we retreat to a more quiet corner of the room, and he tells me what truly happened to Genghis Khan, or during whatever event Leon was telling us about.

*

Today, the guys have all gone hiking, and I'm a bit sick and too tired for a walk. Suddenly, while I'm trying to enjoy my tea with a lot of honey, Merlin appears in my living room. I jump and insult him as he deserves, and after he received a few pillow hits, I calmed down - thanks to a coughing fit that left me breathless...

\- Would you like me to do something about your health?" he asks.

I frown long enough for me to understand what he meant.

\- Do you mean that you CAN do something and you haven't yet?" I say, insisting on every word.

\- Wow calm down, I can't do anything magical, but I know some potions... I haven't told you before, because old school medicine is at best as efficient as the modern one, and usually tastes worse.

\- Well then thanks but no thanks, I'll stay with my very very tasty syrup... So, was that the reason for my almost heart attack?

\- Actually no," he says while sitting down near me. "You know that I was looking for a bigger place, your flat seems to shrink with every new knight.

He said that with such a smile... Even if I was mad before, that would have stopped me...

\- Yes, sorry that my wage is not enough to rent a palace!

\- Don't worry, mine is. Kinda. Well it's more like income but- anyway, I bought a place. And I wanted to tell you first. Is it ok for you if we move out?

I knew it would come. I'm half happy because finally I would have some privacy again, and half sad because I grew used to having all my friends around. But it'll be better for Arthur to have his own place - his own room at least. I only hope that he won't behave like an old-school king and treat his friends like servants...


	6. I will leave the light on

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Percival broke my heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to post the rest of the fic, even if not it was no beta-ed, I hope Fau will forgive me (I still need your help tho, this must be filled with mistakes !!!)  
> Because I need to clear stuff from my head at the end of this weird year.  
> I can't wait to hear from you all !

Merlin told us the house he had found was huuuuge and after thinking about it for approximately 3 seconds, Gwaine and Percival agreed to move there too. Leon thought about it a few more minutes, but after checking that his ride to work won't really be longer, he accepted too. All of them were super excited and I was a bit melancholic. So we were packing at Gwaine's this sunday's afternoon (and I must admit that his flat was actually smaller than mine) when all of our phones rang at the same time. After looking at each other with curious faces, we realised that the only one missing was Leon, who was visiting his parents. The others looked at me, waiting, so I sighed one more time and rolled my eyes, before checking my phone and reading out loud.

_I know how to find the Queen and Elyan._

Arthur dropped the empty box he was holding and leaned against the wall. Everything went quiet. We were watching him. Merlin had his hand on his mouth and his eyes were open wide. Gwaine and Percival were watching their King, clearly worried.

\- Call him," ordered Arthur, with his 'do-not-dare-to-disobey" voice.

\- I did, of course. Leon picked up immediately.

\- Leon, I’m putting you on speaker.

\- Talk," said Arthur with the same voice as before.

\- I had the feeling I had seen Gwen and Elyan somewhere, but as I couldn't recall where, I haven't talked to you about it, I didn't want to give you false hope. I'm sorry my Lord. But I'm at my parents, and we met the neighbors, and my mother talked to them of course, and-

Arthur coughed loudly.

\- Sorry. The point is that Gwen and Elyan used to live in my neighborhood when I was a kid, I'm 90% sure of it. I mean, I haven't seen them in a while, but they are the one I have this feeling about. Thanks to my mother and her ability to gossip, I know where to find Gwen. Her name's Angela and she's a waitress at The Excalibur - um, it's a palace, a luxury hotel downtown," he added, before Arthur got the time to ask.

\- Thank you Sir Leon. Will we see you tonight ?

Arthur's voice was extremely controlled and neutral, as if the information hadn't dazed him. But I could see that he was shocked. He was clenching his fists tightly and stared at the void. After Leon told us he'll meet us at the new house tonight, we hung up. No one dared to disturb Arthur, so we continued to pack Gwaine's stuff silently. Step by step, joke by joke, we restored everyone's good mood, but Arthur was still silent, even if he was smiling. At the end of the day, Jesse's car and mine were filled with boxes, and Merlin led the way in Percival's car - with Arthur. We drove to the southern limit of the town, and Percival turned in a grandiose alley. Gwaine and I looked at each other, an eyebrow raised.

\- Do you really think..." he said.

\- Well... Merlin _is_ resourceful...

\- You're right, but this place is uninhabited for as long as I can remember, and it's, like, Avalon's most haunted place. I came here when I was 16 with a girl I wanted to impress...

\- Did it work?" I asked, while slowly driving in the super long alley.

I- ended up with her brother instead, so yes, it kinda worked," he answered with a wink.

I rolled my eyes... If every story he told were true, he would know - and maybe more than just know...- everyone in this town. Finally, Percival parked his car and I did the same. Leon was already waiting for us. The 'mansion' was really huge and Merlin had clearly done some work. The front and the windows were spotless and modern. The garden - more like a park - looked amazing, with some corners with flowers, and others that looked like an old, very old forest. I loved it immediately. Merlin looked very proud, and he gave us a tour of the whole domain. Gwaine, Percival and Leon didn't stop looking at each other like something was missing. I knew they were trying to understand how on earth _Merlin_ could have enough money to buy this place, so I tried to look innocent - without success, given the looks Gwaine gave me... Anyway, I stopped counting the number of bedrooms after 7, even if Gwaine claimed every one of them, declaring that 'this one's the best' every time. We all knew that Arthur would choose his room first, but it was still hilarious. The work done was perfect. It was a mix between old and modern furniture, depending on the room. The library was especially wonderful, with books everywhere, and wood shelves and ladders, and books books books! There was also an awesome tv room, with movies everywhere too. It was paradise. I knew where I would go to borrow something for now on! Once the visit was done, it was already late. We emptied our cars and went back to my place for dinner. And finally, we talked about the Queen.

\- So, does anyone have an idea about how we could meet Guinevere ?" asked Arthur. I knew it was all he had thought about all day...

\- It depends," said Gwaine. "Do you know if she's only at the bar, or if she does some room service too? If she does, we could call her in a room for whatever reason...

\- No idea," answered Leon. "I guess we'll have to book a room to find out.

\- Even if I do not like it, I can not go there myself," declared Arthur. "But Anna is a foreigner, and if I understand correctly how all of this works, it would be better if she was the one to go.

\- Agreed," said Merlin. "But maybe not alone, she's actually the only one who wouldn't recognise Gwen...

\- Then we will have to send someone else with her," said the King, turning to Gwaine.

\- Uhm, I'm not the one for this, I have some kind of history with one of the Excalibur's bartenders...

\- With whom don't you have history?" asked Percival with a huge smile, before getting hit by Gwaine's fist.

\- So it's me, Percival or Merlin then?" asked Leon.

Merlin glanced at Arthur who nodded discreetly.

\- You'll go Sir Percival. Is tomorrow a possibility for you?

\- Yes, of course, but I'm not sure we could rent a room in such short notice in this kind of place.

\- I got that covered," said Merlin.

\- Then it's settled," concluded Arthur.

\- Don't you think you're forgetting something?" I asked innocently.

The guys looked at each other, confused.

\- Maybe asking me? If I agree, or if I'm available?

\- Are you not available all the time ? You do not seem to have any other occupation than us, it appears," said Arthur sharply.

The others, that had the decency to look a bit contrite, realised instantly that he said something wrong, but their King was too confident to notice I was hurt. And angry.

\- Well, you're right, I'm free. But do me a favor, think about the conversation we once had about respect. Maybe you can even ask someone to help you understand, for a change. With that, good night gentlemen.

I made a ridiculous curtsey and retreated into my room, gloomy. Arthur was right, he and the knights and their story were the only thing I was taking care of, and this was the only thanks I got? Maybe it was just the emotion of having his wife back, but Arthur seemed to think my presence and what I was doing for him was due to him. I was not doing it to get anything in return, but I didn't deserve to be treated like that. The time of masters and servants was done. I fell asleep, my head buzzing with anger, sadness and determination.

*

When I woke up, they were all gone. It didn't make me feel any better. I hoped I didn't make them flee... I left for work a bit late, and I didn't have the luxury to think about them for the rest of the day. The new team leader was a harpy, and if at first, she appeared just a little bit rude, it was getting worse and she was even really mean sometimes. Luckily, I had taken a few hours off. When I got home, I was still all alone, and I hadn't got any text all day. It was the first time since Merlin and I exchanged our numbers. I knew I was taking this a little too badly, so I called Alex, to lighten my day. It actually worked at first. Then, not so much. He timidly told me about this girl he had met a few months ago, that he didn't want to talk about until he was sure about her. As I never told him how I felt about him, I couldn't be mad, so I tried to be happy for him - and I was, deep down. Deep, deep down. I couldn't reasonably tell him that I liked him at this moment, so far away from him for at least 3 more years, and not now that he had met someone... When I hung up, I was not feeling better. I felt like everything was falling apart, and the worse thing was that I knew I was overreacting all of it. I finally got a short text from Gwaine, asking me if I was ok. I couldn't stop myself, I answered 'no'. Something like 15 minutes later, he arrived at my place, surprising me. I didn't even ask him where he got my keys, I had the feeling the answer would be 'Merlin'. He threw an ice-cream bucket at me.

\- Are you the ice-cream type?

\- What?

\- When you're sad, are you the ice-cream type?

\- No idea, but it surely can't make me feel worse, so it's worth a shot.

\- Great, I'll get the spoons.

Then he proceeded to wallow in the couch next to me, to dig in the bucket, and he asked me about everything. It was not a complicated situation and the ice-cream bucket was pretty small so barely half an hour later, he got out of the room pretexting an urgent phone call. When he got back, he dragged me out, saying that fresh air is the best medicine for broken hearts, 'trust me I'm an expert'. Percival was waiting for us in front of my building's door, and he took us downtown. I followed them to the street with all the luxury shops, where Gwaine stopped and took a credit card out of his pocket.

\- I have no idea where Merlin got all of his money, but he told us there was no limit. So, what about a trip in Money Town, so you two would look the part in The Excalibur, hum? Shopping, Pretty Women style? We still have a few hours until the shops close. How lucky Percy and I are on vacation!" he said without a trace of honesty.

\- Luck hum?

\- Hey, we _are_ on vacation ! Not our fault that His Royal Prat had chosen this week to upset you!

\- So, what do you say?" asked Percival.

\- No limit you said? I'm on board.

And we spend 3 hours in the town's most expensive shops. We bought clothes, shoes, boots, purses, jewelry, for me and Percival, and also a few stuff for Gwaine even if he resisted at first. It was absolutely hilarious to see Gwaine and Percival, two knights from ancient times, but also two modern men, arguing about what kind of dress I should wear, or about the validity of a man purse. I actually felt better after that, a bit because of the money spent frivolously, but mainly because of the boys. They also tried so many ugly clothes, behind the back of the disapproving saleswomen, and made me cry of laughing. At some point, we got kicked out of the last shop, and we found ourselves in the street, arms filled with bags, smiling at each other and still half laughing.

\- So, what about we go to the car and leave all of it there, and then we use Merlin's magical credit card once more to eat something fancy?" said Percival.

\- Oh, I don't know about you, but I'm very hungry. What about something like consistent junk food instead? We'll do fancy another time, my treat, if you want.

\- I was hoping you'd said that," said Gwaine.

\- Fine," agreed Percival, "an other time then.

\- I won't forget your sacrifice Sir Percival. Your reward will reflect your loss," I said.

\- Well, I'll take 2 Big Macs for starters.

\- And that's indeed what he ate. For starters. And to say that I was the hungry one...

*

They took me home after dinner, and helped me with the bags. They told me that Merlin had found a room at The Excalibur for the next day, wished me good night, and left, not without hugging and kissing me, and saying that everything would be alright. My eyes were wet when they left but I was smiling. I thought that even if Arthur was an ass, he was a friendly ass, and a great king. I will not be the one who let him down. I realised that I was proving exactly the opposite of what I said to him: whatever he would do, I'll be there for him. So that was what faith and loyalty were then... I sighed but didn't call him. I could stay mad at him a bit longer. That will teach him a lesson - or not, probably. The next day, I quickly packed my stuff for the night, and went to work. Terrible day again, and longer than the day before. But at the second I could leave, I ran outside. Percival was waiting for me in a fancy rental car. I saw some of my coworkers chuckling at his sight, and obviously sighed with jealousy when he waved at me. I asked him to park somewhere discreet so I could change my clothes before going to The Excalibur. He then told me that the plan was simply to observe, to confirm that this Angela girl was indeed Queen Gwen, and only if possible, to make contact. I was feeling like a spy in a movie, especially now that I was wearing clothes that I would never have been able to pay for, and with a handsome man in a James Bond suit right next to me. He parked in front of the hotel, and someone opened the door for me. I got out awkwardly, and after Percival gave the key to the valet, he joined me and took my arm. It was obvious to me that he was as embarrassed as I was, but he smiled at me, I winked and we entered the hotel. Everyone was extremely polite, and welcomed us by our names. It was clearly Merlin's work. Someone took our suitcases and led us to our room. As soon as we were alone, we looked at each other, smiled, and rushed to the bedroom. We threw ourselves on the bed, arms spread, and sighed deeply. Then we burst out laughing and I rolled on my stomach.

\- So, Mister Collins, what's the plan _exactly_?

\- Well, Mrs Chevalier, I have no idea. Arthur's in such a bad mood since Sunday that I didn't dare to ask.

\- ... Really?

\- Yes, but honestly, for once I think he's upset because he hurt you, and he has no idea how to make it right. But don't worry about him...

\- Well then, let's do some recon, Mister Bond," I said with a smile.

\- I sincerely hope you won't have the same fate as any James Bond girl, but let's go.

\- Come on, I'm so not a James Bond girl. I'm Jane Bond.

\- In that case Mrs Bond, please take your husband's arm. We have a bartender to look for, the one Gwaine told us about. We'll take a drink and make hypotheses on who they are, and maybe we'll find the Queen. And if we don't, we'll try again tomorrow. Merlin booked the room for a week.

\- Thank you for trying to cheer me up. You definitely are a great guy.

\- So I've been told.

That early evening, we drank reasonably but laughed a lot. We tried to keep it quiet though because the atmosphere was uptight. Finally, we went to the hotel restaurant. I had promised Percival a fancy dinner the day before, well this one was definitely like that! It was refined but not as good as expected. Percival was also disappointed by the quantity, but the dessert changed his mood. Not about the quantity, but because of the waitress. As soon as he saw her, I saw tears in his eyes and he seemed to shrink. He lowered his eyes when she got close and didn't say another word. I took my best french accent and thanked her profusely. She smiled and asked me a couple of questions about me, what I was doing there and that type of thing. Because Percival was still buried in his plate, I said something about being here because I had met a guy from this town once who was a traveller and a very nice guy. Sometimes, I do think fast...

\- I remember he told me about 'is school, euh ze Lady of ze Lake School. I remember becauze the name was pretty. I don't know about zis town's size but maybe you know ze school?

\- Actually, it was mine when I was young.

\- What a coïncidence! Can you tell me where it iz?

\- I have to wait at table right now, I'm sorry. But I'll be at the bar after dinner if you want.

\- Great! We'll be there! Thank you so much!" I said, forgetting to accentuate my accent.

She raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything, and left. Percival's face was red and he kept his head down until she was gone. I reached his arms and tried to meet his eyes. He looked at me, searched for her and sighed deeply.

\- She's the Queen...

\- Really? And there I thought you always behave like that with someone with a terrible fake accent!

\- The absurdity of what I said made him smile, still with sad eyes though.

\- I'm sorry, it's just that... the last time I saw her, she wished me luck and I went into battle to protect her and her kingdom. I died there. Leon told me that the battle was a victory, but I still have the feeling that I failed her. I failed to protect Lance, Elyan, then Gwaine, Arthur, Merlin disappeared, and then I couldn't protect the Queen?

\- Oh Jesse... You didn't fail anyone! I can't begin to understand how it must be to be here today, but those guys? They're alive now! I don't know how it is possible, but the point is you didn't fail them. You fought for them, you fought _with_ them. You gave your life to protect the Queen and according to Leon, the battle wouldn't have been won without you. And think about Gwaine. You spend a lot of time convincing him that he didn't fail you, and now it's your turn? If you meant what you said to him, and I know you do, the same thing applies to you too. You're brave, you did whatever you could. Right?

\- Right... You're right, of course...

\- He stopped talking, and ate a bit. Then, suddenly:

\- It was in front of Camelot's doors. We were ready for battle, and Leon was alongside me. We were Camelot's Prime Knights, a title that Queen Guinevere had created for us. She wanted us to have something that would distinguish us, and we didn't want to be lords of anything. So that day, we were in the court, with the knights, and she was on the stairs. She told us what we were fighting for, Camelot, the people, ourselves, our friends and family. But in my mind, and I know Leon was thinking the same thing, I knew that _she_ represented exactly that for us: she was Camelot, she was our friend and family, and all we had left of our King. After her speech, she went down the stairs in front of Leon and I, and she asked us to take care of us, and of each other. She said that before every battle, every patrol. She always said that we were all that was left, and we always said that she was still there. But this time, the battle was about to be even more dangerous than the others, and we saw that she was about to cry, even if she never allowed herself to let go in public. So I asked her permission, and I hugged her. I said that she was my Queen, now and forever, as Arthur was my King. She wished me luck, and she whispered an order in my ear. Maybe I didn't fail, like you said, but I couldn't obey her last order.

I knew what this order was before asking, but I had to.

\- What did she ask you?

\- ‘Come back’," he said, and I breathed the words with him, as it was exactly what I expected.

*

We finished eating in silence, but I made a point at smiling reassuringly in case Percival would look at me. He seemed to get over his bad feelings, because when we stood up to go to the bar, he seemed better and determined. He took my arm and walked me there, and whispered a quiet 'thanks' in my ear. I rolled my eyes with a big smile, and nudged him discreetly. He laughed and said :

 _\- You're_ the greatest, sister. And I wanted to ask you again, how is it that you believe us? Our story is weirder than anything I heard.

\- I’m still asking myself the same question, but after all, magic is real, right? I mean, maybe that nowadays it's gone, but back then, magic was real. That's the only reasonable explanation.

\- Well, maybe 'reasonable' isn't the right word here...

\- Indeed. Oh, here she comes... Do you think you could behave like a not-terrified human being this time?" I asked with a wink.

\- I'll do my best.

But he was already blushing.

\- Good evening again, what can I get you?" asked the waitress Angela, who was destined to be Queen Guinevere.

\- Two Martinis please.

\- All right. If that's alright with you, I'll serve the other customers first, then maybe we'll have time to talk about the school.

\- With pleasure! Thank you!

\- Martinis? Really? You don't even like it, and me neither," whispered Percival once she was gone.

\- Sorry, I got no inspiration and I was thinking about James Bond...

He rolled his eyes, and picked up his phone which was ringing.

\- Hello? ... Yes, we're at the bar. ... Yes Sire, it's her. ... As nice as she ever was. ... I think Anna has a plan. ... Sorry what? ... *sigh* Yes Sire..." He looked at me and said: "Arthur says he's sorry.

\- Tell him I won't hear it from someone else.

\- She wants you to say it directly to her. ... What? Come on, I'm not an owl!

And he handed me the phone. I smiled at him and whispered a congratulation for his choice of words, and slowly put the phone on my ear.

\- ... Yes?" I said sharply.

\- I... I think I understood that reference.

\- I couldn't help myself from laughing at this one.

\- What now? What did I say?

\- There's a few more movies and tv shows you should watch soon, then you'll know. So, what was that that you wanted Jesse to tell me?

\- I have been _told_ that what I said to you could be taken as an outrage...

\- That's a way to put it, yes.

\- ...and that you are probably annoyed.

\- And that's an understatement.

\- I now understand that your employment is not to help us, and that you are doing it in your free time.

\- Did Merlin write this speech too?

\- ...

\- I heard the sound of crumpled paper, and I smiled.

\- Nevermind, keep going.

\- As I am a fair King, I also know when to apologise.

\- I heard the sound of Merlin coughing in the background, and then the sound of him being hit...

\- I am sorry Anna for I have hurt you.

\- Again.

\- What ?

_\- 'For I have hurt you again.'_

\- ... Right.

\- So?

In front of me, Percival was trying to choose between being offended or impressed and ended up coughing because he drank too fast while trying to pretend he was not listening to the conversation. I hit him lightly under the table and he laughed even more. I was hearing Merlin and Arthur having a fight over the phone, and finally:

\- Fine, _fine._ Anna? Are you still there?

\- Waiting.

\- I am very sorry for hurting you again Anna. I wish there was something I could do to make it up to you. If we were in Camelot, I would throw a feast in your honour, sadly I can not here.

\- Just a promise then.

\- I listen.

\- If you ever hurt me again, or anyone you care about-

\- I would not!

\- Yes, you would, it will happen, because it happens to everyone and it’s ok. But when that happens, and you know you're wrong, please don't take so much time to apologise. It's worse. I thought you had- Anyway, apologise as soon as you realise you're wrong, that's all. Even if you don't know the right words to do it properly. A simple 'sorry' is better than a speech someone else wrote for you - no offense Merlin.

\- None taken," I heard from a distance.

\- Fine. Sure. I am still learning the manners of these days.

\- Oh don't worry Arthur, this is not especially today's manners. It's just _decent_ manners since the beginning of time that you probably never learned because you were a spoiled prince. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to talk to your wife.

At these words, I saw Percival's mood change again, from laugh to shame. I hated that. I hoped his Queen would remember who she was soon, so this guilt would leave him.

\- Here's your drinks," she said with a smile.

\- Oh thanks a lot. So, do you have a bit of time to talk?

\- Actually yes, as long as I keep an eye on the other customers.

\- Oh don't worry, we don't plan to kidnap you," I tried.

She smiled at me, thankfully… I thought her job had taught her to make her customers believe they were actually funny...

\- So, this Lady of the Lake school, I haven't found it online, like it was gone? Maybe you can help me! It's the only clue I have to find my friend... Well, this and his name of course, but I really can't picture me going around the town asking everyone 'excuse me, do you know someone named Eli King?' This would be ridiculous, so maybe-

\- I'm sorry, how did you say his name was?

\- Eli King, why? Don't tell me you know him... This would be so amazing!

\- Well, given that Eli King was the name Leon had given us for the Queen's brother Elyan...

\- Well then, this is your lucky day, Eli's my brother.

\- No. Way," I said, exaggerating, because I just realised that I had forgotten to accentuate my accent...

Percival was smiling timidly now, and he was trying to look at Angela.

\- He iz your brother? So, is he 'ere by any chance? I know he likes to travel a lot, but maybe...

\- He's not, but he'll be there for Christmas, if you're staying.

\- I'm not, but our very _very_ shy friend Jesse here, he'll be there.

\- Yes, I'll... I'll be there. It will be an honour to meet him again. Aoutch!

That last part was because of the kick I gave him under the table. An honour to meet him... Angela looked at him curiously, but she smiled. He kept talking:

\- Do you... think we could surprise him? I mean, it's been a while since I haven't seen him, and I think it would be nice.

\- What a great idea! We should organise something. I hope he'll be happy!

Percival had definitely something on his mind, as he continued:

\- I don't want to push it, but what about we meet when you're not at work someday, to plan this?

\- Absolutely. Wait, I'll write down my number for you.

And she went back behind the bar.

\- Was it..." I started.

\- ... way too easy? Absolutely. Let's say it's magic again. If this happened that smoothly, fine by me!

\- You're right, but still...

At this moment, Angela came back and handed me a paper with her number and her name. I remembered my manners at this second and introduced myself. She then told us that Monday was her day off, so if possible, to meet on Monday would be a good idea. On that, I decided to call it a night, and I dragged Percival back to our room. He still looked upset, and I still had to go to work the next day. We argued on who would sleep on the couch, both of us trying to leave the real bed to the other. But I finally won when I told him to lie on the couch, and he realised that his feet went way past the edge of the couch. I triumphed and slept like a log. I even missed my alarm and arrived late at work. I knew that Percival would have told the others everything, but I didn't check on my phone that day. Obviously, when my day was done, I had more than 100 messages from 5 different conversations, including the one with Alex. I read those ones first, and I rolled my eyes as the content: he was so happy, blablabla ugh... I rolled my eyes at my own reaction and answered with small talk. Then I read all the other messages, and answered as read. I spent a good hour in the hospital parking lot, to finish all that. Basically, they were asking me to invite Angela-Gwen to the Sports Bar next monday. It would be less suspicious to meet someone you don't know in a bar than at someone's place. Gwaine said he could manage to open the bar for us, as long as we kept things quiet and left quickly.

*

The next monday, the appointment with Angela was set early, to give her time to adjust. That meant I was at work for once. Leon and Percival wouldn’t be there either. We really hoped it would work this time too, or else this meeting would turn out to be some kind of trap with people she didn’t know. When I had left them the day before, Percival and Leon were unpacking at their new house, but the mood was definitely weird. Arthur was walking back and forth, Merlin was biting his nails, Gwaine was wiping the glasses out of habits, Leon seemed absent minded and Percival terrified. Despite what Leon and Arthur had said to him, he was still feeling guilty. Even Gwaine had yelled at him, without success. So at work, I was distracted. I got yelled at too, but this time I couldn't say it was undeserved - even if yelling if never a solution from my point of view, but that's not the point. Angela was supposed to come at 2pm, so from that moment, I had my phone right in front of me. But nothing came. At 3, I send an angry "SO ??????????" into the group conversation, and got nothing for another hour. Then finally, Merlin deigned to answer with the most vague answer ever : "come to the house asap". I swore to kill them all, and went to the house as soon as I could. When I parked, I noticed Gwaine's bike, Leon and Percival's cars, and another one. Angela's? I went to the living room and found everybody there, sitting in the couches and armchairs, in silence. I recognised Angela lying on Arthur on the main couch. Merlin spotted me and smiled, and the others turned around to greet me. Angela stood up and came to me. She smiled widdly and hugged me. I was stunned, but she whispered:

\- Thank you for what you did to him, to them. You helped them more than they know, or admit. They told me everything that had happened since Arthur came back, and whether they realised it or not, your name was everywhere. They talked a lot about you, and I witnessed first hand what you do for them. So thank you very much Anna.

At this point, I was almost crying, and I was holding her too. I answered:

\- Are you ok?

\- Yes, I am. I don't know how, but I'm fine.

\- Did you... talked to Percival? Or did he talk to you?

\- Not yet, why?

\- He feels guilty for abandoning you...

\- No!" she said, breaking our hug but still in a low voice so no one would hear us. "But that's nonsense!

\- That's what I said, and I think he knows it deep inside, but he won't hear it from someone else but you. And while you're at it, please tell Gwaine that you don't think he failed Arthur either? They're awesome, but they're damaged... And Leon still mourns your death too. And Arthur, well... it's Arthur. You know him better than I do for sure.

\- I'm not sure about that... Merlin told me he _apologised_ to you at least twice?

\- I couldn't help but laugh. She joined me, and finally, the guys too. It was a nice evening, and weirdly enough, the knights and Merlin found a lame excuse to spend the night at my place instead of at the house with Arthur and his newly-found-again wife...


	7. Hey I haven’t met you and this is crazy but here’s my number so call me maybe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry I really like that chapter’s title, and I don’t even want to add a summary for this one (I am still busy laughing at my own idea)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here you'll find another exemple of my greatest humor, in a text-messages exchange. I am a proud writer ^^'

I got along very well with Gwen, especially since she had very modern ideas about feminism and human rights and respect and so many other things. She began to spend all of her free time with us. Luckily she was single before, so her relationship with Arthur was just as where it stopped the last time. Under pressure, Leon had already told us that she never remarried after Arthur's death, and the King had taken this news sadly at first, but now that she was back, he was quite happy about it. She had insisted to take Percival out for dinner, and whatever they talked about really worked out for him, as he came back with the most sheepist and shiest and hopeful smile ever. Then, she invited Leon, Gwaine, and Merlin each to a dinner, and after that organized a real and modern date night for her and Arthur. Obviously, that night, we planned a movie night on our own. I joked about the fact that in the past, everyone lived in the same big _big_ house, and nobody thought about leaving when things went wild. They very awkwardly told me about 'thin walls' and coughed and blushed. I told them that they couldn't leave every time the King and Queen spent the night together, and they agreed, yet none of them seemed to stand out of my couch to go back home. I rolled my eyes and laughed.

It was almost Christmas, and I was going back to France for the holidays. When I had to go to the airport, Gwaine offered me a ride. I declined, due to too much luggage, but he called Percival and made him come over. They took my stuff and put it in Percival's car, and Gwaine shoved a helmet in my head and put me on his bike before I had the time to protest. To be honest, I could have taken the time to protest, I just didn't. And I had so much fun! When we arrived at the airport, we took the time to have a drink and chat. It had been a while since we were just the two of us, so it was nice. He was feeling better and better, especially now that he really realised that no one was mad at him. It was even the opposite and he was so happy about it. He told me about his relationship with everyone, how he had missed them without knowing it, how he had missed Percival, and how he was finally feeling complete. He thanked me too. Like I had something to do with it... But whatever, I appreciated it.

Soon it was time for me to go, I'd hate to miss my plane. And what a surprise when I found everyone in the hall with Percival - who had my luggage so I was not surprised by his presence... They had made a banner with "Joyeux Noël" written in it. Actually, it was more something like _"Joi ~~y~~ euX No ~~w~~ e ~~y~~ l _" and I could swear the corrections were Merlin's, but the intention was adorable. I actually cried a bit while saying goodbye, even so it was only for 10 days. I ordered them to give me some news about the Elyan case, and everyone swore to tell me as soon as something happened. I gave them a doubtful look.

\- Riiiiight...

\- Come on, you know us, we won't let you in the dark," Gwaine dared to say.

\- Yes, like I was not in the dark about Gwen?

\- Queen Gwen," Arthur added in a low voice.

\- Don't worry, I'm around this time, I won't let this happen," she said, like Arthur hadn't said anything.

\- Well, usually I would have faith, but it's your brother we're talking about, so I doubt that you'll think about letting me know how it went right away. And I won't blame you! But don't worry, I'll call each and everyone of you ten times per hour until I have an answer.

\- That is great news," said Arthur with the fakest depressed face ever.

I shoved him affectionately and he smiled. I know that this kind of physical proof of affection is weird to him, but he starts to understand that it's not disrespectful at all. Once I got on the plane, I watched as my friends waved at me from across the airport. I knew I was leaving them in good hands, all of them, but I was already missing them.

*

My Christmas holidays were really nice. I saw my parents, my grand-mother, a few friends and Alex-the-french-guy, as the Knights now call him... He had been dumped by his girlfriend, so he was a little bit heart-broken. It was a little less fun than usual, but I was more than happy to bitch about that girl, especially now that he had told me exactly how she was at the end of their relationship. I tried not to, but I couldn't stop myself from hoping that maybe, something could happen between us. But I quickly came to my senses: he was trying to accept his break-up, and I was living in a different country. The timing was awful. So I comforted him, I patted his back affectionately and told him that things will be better with time. It was weird for me, as I only knew about his relationship for less than a month, when he was with her for almost a year. But he was still my best friend, so... (yeah, in love with her best friend, how much more of a cliché can I be?)

On Christmas day, I got almost yelled at by my mom, because I couldn't stop looking at my phone. So I pretended that I was waiting to hear from a friend that was supposed to get surgery and she understood and told me that she hoped that that friend would be all right. Amazing understanding mother... Nobody in Avalon had told me exactly the plan, so I couldn't actually harass them with phone calls. I didn't even know when they were supposed to meet Elyan - just the day, Christmas day.

But at 4pm I got a text from an unknown number. I had a feeling about the sender...

UN- "Anna?"

A- "that is my name indeed. what's yours?

UN- "Eli"

UN- "Elyan"

UN- "i don't think i know anymore"

A- "wanna talk?"

UN- "yes please"

A- "give me 5 min and i call you"

UN- "thank you"

I saved Elyan's number quickly and informed my parents that my friend got out of surgery and wanted to talk to me. I caught the look they made to each other, and rolled my eyes. I'll have to tell them that it was not this kind of friend, and I was still single, and thank you for not imagining things about my love life...

\- Hello?

\- Hi, hello, it's... Anna. It's me. Hi.

\- Hi..." he said, and with such a voice that I got Ross Geller's vibes.

\- May I ask how you are?

\- I'm fine," he said, automatically.

\- And what about how you are, _really_ ?

\- I'm fi- I don't know," he all but whispered, then he sighed deeply. "Who are you by the way? I just got your card...

\- My card? They made me a card? I wonder what's in it... 'Anna Chevalier, Knights service and support, 24/7'?

\- Actually," he said in disbelief, clearly not quite used to my poor sense of humor, "it was just your first name and your number.

\- Oh, subtle then. Well, I'm sorry, I'm not helping. So, what do you want to talk about? Do you want to tell me about how you remembered? Or about what you remember? Or anything else actually, I'm all ears.

\- I'm sorry but... Who are you again?

\- Oh, right, I didn't answer that... So, my name is Anna obviously, and I'm a friend of the guys and Gwen. I met Arthur almost a year ago near the place where I work at, and he told me who he truly was 9 months ago or something. It was quite a shock of course, and don't ask me why but I believed him easily. Then we met Merlin, Gwaine, Percival, Leon and finally Gwen a few weeks ago. It was hard for everyone to cope with all this you know. Some needed days, some needed minutes, some are still trying to understand everything, and no one is perfectly all right with everything." Except Merlin, who was living the best moments of his life - and it was definitely something to say.... "And as I was around the whole time, and I'm not, um, from back then, I thought I could try to help you with all this, since I'm not related to anything, you know ?

\- So, you _are_ 'Knights support'...

\- Well, I'd prefer 'friend' but I could live with that," I said with a small laugh. "And hum... who are _you_ ?

\- I thought you knew, I'm Ely-

\- No, I know that, I know your name. Names. I meant, who do you feel you are? _How_ do you feel?

\- Not sure. Conflicted, terrified, happy, scared, hurt, stunned, cold...

\- Okay, let's talk about that then. Cold?

\- I'm outside the house.

\- Their's?

\- Yes. Huge one...

\- Indeed. So next one, you're hurt?

\- Mmm, this one is weird. It's almost gone now, but I felt my wounds, from the sword, from when I..." and his voice broke.

\- Don't push it. You don't have to talk about stuff you're not ready for, okay? Not with me," I tried to calm him. "Not with anyone in fact, despite anything that Arthur could tell you...

\- What? Why would he-

\- It's just an example. It's just that he could be like that sometimes. Because he's not fully adapted to this century yet. I have hope though. But anyway, what did you say you felt again? I think you said surprised or something? Well, I can understand this one...

\- Yes, all of this was um... unexpected.

\- Wanna tell me about it?

\- I was coming home for Christmas, Angela had insisted this time. I was in Liverpool so it was not too hard. She told me to come straight to one of her friends, and well, I didn't really want to, but have you ever tried to say no to her? So I was at the house - biggest house in town - and this huge guy opened the door, and there was an other one, making jokes about everything, and that guy Aaron that I haven't see in decades, and he was reading, but I knew he was observing me too, it was so weird, I was wondering if I got the wrong address, but the huge one lead me to another room, saying that Angela was there, and I heard her talking, so I knew it was true, so I followed and then I saw the King next to her, and I knew who he was even though I _know_ I never saw him in my life, and I recognised Merlin too, and even weirder, I recognised my own _sister_ to be someone else, still my sister, but from another time, and the other guys too, and...

\- Hey, breathe! Calm down, there's no hurry... But...what happened then?

\- Angela- um, Gwen, she hugged me, she was crying, and I got flashbacks from when I... um _died_... So I fled. Leon handed me your card, he just said to call you, or at least to text you, that you could help me, and I ran outside, and I texted you.

\- You did well. Okay, so the next one. You're scared?

\- Of course! I came back from the dead or something! My sister is Queen fucking Guinevere and I know Arthur Pendragon, king of Camelot! Hell, I _am_ a fucking Knight of the Round Table! Don't tell me I'm not going crazy...

\- Sorry to disappoint you, but you're not. I can tell you stories about your old self that you will remember, and I highly doubt that you were all in some sort of group hallucination that lasted a lifetime.

\- Well, more like twenty years or so.

\- Speak for yourself. You'll ask your sister or Leon about that, will you?

\- What?

\- You died, but they- um, sorry about that, that was unnecessarily brutal...

\- It's... allright, I guess...

\- *cough* So what I was saying, is that the last thing _you_ remember is not the last thing they lived...

\- *silence* You said Gwen, and Leon, right?" he said slowly, and I tried to understand what kind of mistake I had made...

\- Yeah...?" I drawled.

\- So the others...?

Oh. There it was...

\- Um, you're sure you want to talk about this now? With me?

\- Too late to back away.

\- Obviously... Well, eventually, they all died, but for Arthur, Percival and Gwaine... it came earlier than for Gwen and Leon. I really shouldn't tell you more. You'll ask them, all right?

\- All right..." he said, in shock. I cursed myself, I was soooo not helping him...

\- So uhm... I think you said you were happy?" I said, trying to change the subject as quickly as I could.

\- What? Uhm, yes, weirdly enough though... Remembering all of this - well, expect the end... - this still makes me happy, because back then, I had found what I was looking for, what I have spent _this_ life looking for. Some sense of purpose, some goal bigger than me. I don't know how to explain this. I'm feeling whole again.

\- That's the general feeling, to be honest. Like if all of you were just waiting for Arthur to return.

\- Maybe that's exactly what happened...

\- So," I said, shaking my head to get back in it, "I have the feeling I am completely useless here, so how do you feel Elyan?

\- Better, thanks to you.

\- Really?" I asked in utter shock. "I mean... How? No, I mean, great!

\- You may have a super-power after all," he said, laughing.

\- Let's say for a second that you do really feel better, and I'm not saying that because I don't believe you, but because I really don't think I could be the cause of it. How would you feel about going back inside? Is it too soon for you, seeing them?

\- I think it might be a possibility, but... Do you think we can talk a bit more?

\- Of course! Maybe I can even manage to say something useful!

And then we talked. About me, about my family and my holidays in France. About him now, his family and his travels all around the world, searching for something he didn't know he was looking for, and about him then, his family and his friends, Gwen of course, Percival, Arthur, Gwaine... I didn't give him any more advice, but I realised that he didn't need it. He only wanted someone to talk too, as I understood that both of his lives had been pretty lonely. Until he found Arthur and the Knights, back then, and until today, now. He was quick to understand what was going on, and he accepted it pretty quickly too.

It was a nice chat. However, after a while, I heard his teeth chatter and I remembered he was outside.

\- Eli King! I'm not your mother - or sister - but I'm pretty sure both of them would tell you to go back inside right now! You're freezing! You could at least have got into your car!

\- Um I came on foot.

\- Come on... So, you will go inside. This house or another? Your choice.

\- I guess I'll go with this house. I'll get warm quicker I'm sure.

\- And if I may add, it won't only be warmer because of the temperature.

\- Haha, nice!" he said, with a smiling voice.

\- Elyan, I know you don't know me very well yet, but let me tell you: you absolutely don't have to laugh at each of my lame jokes, okay? You're absolutely allowed to give me the 'nope' look. You'll be used to my poor sense of humour pretty soon, don't worry.

He laughed, a little bit more sincerely this time.

\- That's better. Now go back inside, and have fun with the guys. It's almost Christmas, and I know for a fact that at least Arthur, Merlin, and maybe Gwen don’t have to be somewhere else tonight!

\- You're right. Merry Christmas Anna.

\- Joyeux Noël à toi aussi. See you soon!

I hung up, smiling. Another broken Knight a little less broken. Five good minutes later, I realised that I was still staring at my phone with a smile, so I shook my head, and ready myself for the next conversation with my parents, who were probably making hypothesis about this friend I was talking to for a solid hour...

*

Later that night, I saw that someone had added Elyan in the group conversation, with a few 'welcome home!' messages. And a little bit after midnight, we got a text from Arthur: 'I heard it was a tradition to present your friends and family wishes for Christmas on this particular night of the year. Luckily, you are both my friends and my family so I will not have to do this twice.' I rolled my eyes, it was so much like Arthur to ruin a nice gesture with something like that. I kept reading though. 'I am perfectly sure that Anna just rolled her eyes, as she does every time she thinks I said something wrong. And for that I am grateful, because when that happens I know I have something to think about. All of you were always there for me, and I will always be here for you. On this festive night, I wish you all to spend a nice time with your families and friends, and to remember the necessity of sharing love and happiness. We all know how short life is. I wish that this one will be longer than the last one. Except for Leon, who confesses that he does not miss aching knees.' And that was the end of the message. I was staring at my phone, probably with the most ecstatic and surprised face, when a second message came : 'See, I can joke. Arthur.' And I lost it. I laughed so much my parents came to see if I was ok, and I managed to tell them it was nervous, because of the surgery thing - of course they'll definitely think I have a boyfriend, but anyway. After that, we all congratulated Arthur for his sense of humour, but every message was a joke by itself, even though I'm pretty sure everything flew way above Arthur's head, making it even more funny - at his expense, I must admit.

*

The rest of the holidays went great, I saw Alex a few times, and even though he was obviously still depressed, I managed to make him laugh a few times. I counted it as victories. I'm pretty convinced that laughter can heal broken hearts. Before I got back, he promised to visit me soon, and this time I told him that I counted on him, as he had promised that last time already. He smiled, kissed my cheek and promised again. I probably blushed and mumbled something incoherent. As I got on the plane later that day, I realised that I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him. And yes, I'm fully aware that this is a Twilight quote, but that was the exact sentence I couldn't get out of my head at this moment.

I had taken a few more days off, to relax at home and to enjoy my friend's company. As I had hoped without asking for it, someone was waiting for me at the airport. It was Percival with his bright smile.

\- Anna! Hi, welcome back!

\- Hi! How are you?

\- Fine, but how was your flight?" he asked, taking my luggage out of my hand and leading me out of the airport.

\- Exquisite, but well, low-cost company so... What did I expect?"

After a few minutes of happy small talk, I asked :

\- Uhm, by the way Jesse, where are we going? The parking lot is on the other side of the airport I think...

\- Yes, but we have to pick someone else up before we go," he sighed.

\- ... Here? Near the runway?

\- It's where we can see the planes better.

\- Do I even want to know...?

Then I spotted Arthur, face stuck to the fence. If I didn't know better, I would have said he was a kid watching the planes with fascination. But in fact, as I got closer, I realised that he was only a grown-up watching the planes in fascination. As I saw me, he said :

\- Anna! Were you really _in_ one of those?

\- Hello Arthur, yes I’m fine thank you. Nice to see you too. Yes I came in one of these, do you have trouble believing it? You saw planes before...

\- I do, and you explained planes to me a while back. But the ones I saw were high in the sky. How is it, _inside_?

\- You're more interested by the actual device than by the fact it could _fly_? You're weird, buddy...

\- I am sure that you would not be able to describe to me how it feels like when it flies, so I am asking you about the device instead.

\- Thanks for the faith," I said with a laugh. "Actually, the device is not really interesting, at least not the part that the passengers can see. It's small, not really comfortable and the windows are very small too. But once again, I took a low-cost flight so...

\- Why?

\- Why what?

\- Why did you choose something that cost you less if you can have something better?

\- Because for a one and a half hour flight, I don't really care if it's not super comfy.

\- Those considerations still puzzles me.

\- I can see that... Now, I'm cold. Do you think you can tell Percival you want to go home, because he won't hear it from me...

\- What?" he asked, confused.

\- I'm just saying that your knights are as loyal as they could, and they won't bring me home until you say so. And I'm cold, because it's _december_ and we're watching planes _outside of the airport_!

\- All right," he said, a bit disappointed. "Let's go.

Then, we walked back all the way to the parking lot... None of the two tall, muscular and in great shape men seemed to notice the weather actually, but I was really freezing. I welcomed the car's heat with a relieved sigh.

*

Because it wasn't late, they took me to their place. I noticed that Percival was driving at a regular speed, and even if Arthur was hanging on tightly, he looked pleased. I realised it was just a matter of time before he insisted on riding Gwaine's bike... Was it weird if I began to understand the concerns of teenager's parents?

\- Don't worry about your stuff Anna," said Percival as we arrived. "Elyan's actually quite impatient to meet you. He couldn't come to the airport, he had a job interview, but he's waiting for you now, his bike's here.

\- He's got a bike too?" I said, worrying even more.

\- No, his bike - his bicycle. Gwen had kept his old one, so he uses it now.

\- Oh, thank god...

\- What?

\- Oh, nevermind.

\- Let's go inside, Anna," said Arthur.

\- I'll be right there," added Percival.

As I got inside, I saw some boxes that weren't there before I left, with what I recognised to be Gwen's handwriting on it. So, she was moving in too. Everything was happening so quickly! I was happy for them, but I also knew that I would find my flat way too big for me and way too empty that night. But on the second I got into the living room, I couldn't think of it anymore, as a never-seen-before tall black guy took me in his arms and squeezed me tight.

\- Oh, hi Elyan," I said with a muffled voice.

\- Hi Anna," I heard his voice coming from his torso as my right ear was against it, while my left ear was inside his arm.

\- Nice to meet you, but it would be even nicer if I actually survived this meeting.

\- Oh, right, sorry," he said, freeing me while Gwaine was laughing hard.

\- Happy New Year, and thank you so much for helping me the other day.

\- Happy New Year to you too, and you're very welcome. How have things been since then?

\- Wait wait wait, can we say hi too?" said Merlin.

And with that, one of the best nights I had began. We laughed, we ate, I gave them a few little presents I had brought back, I showed them some french cheese I never fail to buy before I leave, and they all made some weird faces. Except Merlin who tried to find an excuse when he remembered all the cheeses names and which ones he liked or not, and Gwaine who was always curious when it comes to food - even though he hated it and made a point to only look at me with a disgusted face for the rest of the night. Which was pretty hard when he began to tease me about Alex-the-french-guy.

But, well, a really good night. Percival took me home the next morning as he was going to work, after waking me up on the sofa. I thanked him and almost fell back asleep on the stairs to my place.

*

I was awakened by someone knocking on my door before opening it. I heard Merlin say "Anna, it's us, are you sleeping?"

\- Well I was,"I mumbled, knowing fully well that no matter where he was, he would hear me.

I heard him laughing.

\- Arthur will be here soon, he wanted to buy you some breakfast.

\- I must be dreaming...

\- He's on a ‘let's try some mundane things’ mood.

\- We have to be careful, next thing we know he'll want to find a job.

\- God help me...

I laughed and got up, dressed a bit and went into the other room where Merlin was waiting on the sofa.

\- Coffee?" he asked, and sure enough, there were 3 smoking cups on the kitchen table, even though he couldn't have had the time to make it.

\- So I guess it's only Arthur, you and me right now?” I asked, because he never uses magic with anyone else.

\- Behaving is so hard... Old habits die hard. So please allow me to do some magic here...

\- Be my guest. If this means hot coffee every day, please, do it, by all means. By the way, can you get me a french croissant?

\- Arthur's out to buy you breakfast, and you want me to get you a croissant? What a lack of respect...

I sighed dramatically.

\- You're right... So a croissant in my mailbox every day except when Arthur's buying me something, is it too much to ask?

\- You know I'm not your personal assistant, right?

\- Hey, who just complains that he can't do magic whenever he wants?

\- Fair point.

\- Soooo, what about my daily croissant?

\- I'm not powerful enough.

\- Yeah, suuuure.

But Arthur arrived at this moment, keeping me from teasing Merlin a bit more. I kissed Arthur good morning and thanked him for the bread before eating my breakfast with relief. Soon I realised that Arthur was watching me with frowned eyebrows, and he was opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of his tank.

\- Arthur? Are you ok?" I asked, not really concerned, but still.

\- I think he's still in shock," said Merlin, still casually sitting on the sofa, his coffee in his hand.

\- Why? What happened?" I said to both of them.

\- You kissed him," Merlin answered with a grin.

\- What? Oh, on the cheek, right, sorry, my own old habit... That's how I greet my family every morning when I get up Arthur, and how you greet your friends every time you see them in France. Come on, you saw me do this to Gwaine every now and then...

\- Nobody... ever... kissed me like that...

\- I sure hope that Gwen does. Wait no, not like that you're right. But this doesn't mean anything more than that you're my friend, don't overthink this, it's too early.

\- Still. Felt weird.

\- Sorry," I rolled my eyes. "Get over it Princess.

Arthur frowned, and took his phone and typed furiously. Merlin's phone and mine rang at the same time, and Merlin was already laughing when I got up to take mine.

KA- "Sir Gwaine, stop turning Anna into another you. She was fine before."

I laughed too, especially when I realised how true that was... Soon, Gwaine answered, followed by the others.

G- "i don't know what i did but i know i didn't do it"

P- "i don't know what you did but i know you did it"

L- "agreed"

E- "definitely"

QG- "i'm ready to give you the benefit of the doubt, so until i got some proof, i say you did it"

G- "COME ON"

After a few other jokes at Gwaine's expense, Arthur put his phone down and looked at me seriously. I could tell he had something on his mind, but he had learned to not disturb me with serious business before the end of my breakfast. But I felt merciful that morning, and put him out of his misery.

\- Is there something on your mind Arthur? Something else than a friendly kiss on the cheek maybe?

\- I still have to verify the authenticity of this... manner with Gwen, but you are right, there is something that bothers me.

\- I'm all ears.

\- When will you come home?

\- You mean definitely? Not before 3 years, I think, why?

\- What?" said Arthur, clearly taken aback.

Merlin quickly leaned over Arthur's shoulder and whispered something to him. Arthur sighed, and I swear it was relief I saw in his eyes. I was really confused...

\- I do not mean your hometown, nor your home country. I mean home. With us.

It was my turn to be taken aback. Merlin frowned at Arthur and reached over to put his hand on my arm.

\- What Arthur tries very _delicately_ to say, is that when I asked you to move in, you agreed and you haven't moved yet, and we miss you.

\- Wait, what? When you asked me...? You never did!

\- I totally did! When I told you about the house, I asked you.

\- No you didn't, you asked me if it was ok for _you_ to move _out_ of _here_ , not if I wanted to move in too!

\- But... that was... implied...

\- Come on Merlin... You don't do that type of proposal with... imply! You need a clear question and a clear consent...

\- Like intercourse!" said Arthur, much to my surprise. And obviously Merlin's, given the look on his face.

We stayed silent for a few seconds then burst into laughter. Arthur was NOT happy and grumbled something about a lesson he had well learned, so why would we laugh at him. I resisted so much to add some joke, something about Gwen being a lucky woman, but I couldn't even breathe right, so I didn't even try. But when I crossed Merlin's eyes, I saw that he was thinking the same kind of silly things. We laughed again.

Once I calmed down - almost 5 minutes later...- I talked again.

\- Arthur... I'm sorry, it was so... unexpected... that I couldn't stop myself. But about what you said, what you offer... Do you really want me to move in with all of you? And the others, what do they say?

\- Grmpf all right... And even though I probably should think more about it, given how you treat me..." but he said it with his false serious tone and I knew he was joking. "I am used to living with everyone I care about. This is how things should be. So yes, I want you to come live in the mansion.

Even though I was over the moon, I noticed his use of the word "want"... He still has a lot to learn!

\- And about the others, they asked us first in fact. Percival and Gwaine actually, they brought it up at dinner the other night, when you were in France. They asked us if we knew when you would move in, so they can take days off if needed," said Merlin.

\- So you decided to do an 'intervention', right?

\- What?" asked Arthur.

\- Sort of," said Merlin at the same time, smiling.

\- Nevermind... Well, as much as I want to accept it right now, I have to think about it.

I don't know who I was fooling to be honest, the decision was already taken. But I really had some stuff to think about. Merlin was indeed not fooled, and he winked at me with a happy smile. Arthur looked me in the eyes, and nodded very seriously.

\- Take the time you need. We will wait for your answer.

\- Thank you for this Arthur.

I frowned, a new idea suddenly in my mind.

\- Arthur? You're being very considerate these days. Is it conscious or do you do that without thinking?

\- I am always considerate, I do not know what you are talking about.

I rolled my eyes and raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for an answer.

\- All right..." he finally said. "Sometimes I try, and I see that this kind of... effort... is well perceived. So maybe I am getting used to it.

Merlin sighed dramatically.

\- All this time, I failed... And in less than a year, you did it. I'm beginning to be jealous here.

\- Nonsense Merlin. You never failed me in anything,” said Arthur.

Surprised by this rare statement of recognition, Merlin opened and closed his mouth several times. But before he managed to say something, Arthur frowned and looked up, thinking.

\- Actually, I think you failed me indeed. I can not count the times you failed to bring my breakfast, or the council you missed Merlin. What a failure of a manservant you were.

\- 'Were'?" I asked, curious about this choice of word.

\- I have been told by a very concerned Elyan that I should not qualify Merlin as my servant these days. Nobody has servants now, except maybe royalty or very rich people. Well, I am royalty, but nobody knows that yet. And I am not rich either, Merlin is.

I laughed.

\- It looks like you're reciting a lesson Arthur. You do that all the time.

\- By the way, as I'm the rich guy around, maybe _you're_ supposed to be my servant," said Merlin with a malicious smile.

\- Do not push it Merlin. But I am certain that I would do a better job than you.

\- Wanna bet?" Merlin added quickly.

Arthur gave his friend a dirty look, and Merlin laughed.

\- Come on Sire, we have to go if we want to find the clothes you need before lunch. Let us know about the whole 'moving in' business, ok?

\- Sure!

\- Oh and will you be there for lunch by the way? You should tell Leon, he's cooking today and he'll want to know how many guests he'll have.

\- Leon's cooking? I won't miss that... I'll text him.

\- I'll see you then!

\- Good bye Anna, have a nice morning.

\- Thank you Arthur, have a nice shopping trip!

He frowned but still left. I heard him in the corridor, asking Merlin how far this 'trip' would take them. I laughed again.

*

Two weeks later, obviously, I left my place and moved in with the guys. And Gwen, of course. The mansion was so huge that I still could choose my room. Nobody took any day off for my move, but given how many cars and arms we have, once I had finished packing, it took us no more than one trip to transfer everything I owned. And actually, we only needed 2 cars - thankfully, I don't know how we would have taken everyone home if the 3 cars had been full with boxes... The next week-end was kinda fun, with Gwaine constantly around, saying he would "help" me unpack, when he actually just laid in my - brand new and sooo comfortable - bed and watched over every photo album I had before he realised he was late for work and left in a hurry. I still had a 'welcome home' party that night, which actually lasts long enough for Gwaine to come back. He was obviously well awake - and honestly, when does he SLEEPS ?- and kept us out of bed for hours. At some point, he noticed Merlin curled in a chair, slightly snoring. He went quiet and shushed us with a severe look, like a parent would do to his children. I was about to tease him, but the others went quiet too and even looked slightly worried about Merlin. After they all checked on him, they followed Percival who had taken Merlin in his arms to carry him to bed and then checked that he was comfortably installed. I watched, a bit moved (but it was late at night, that may have been the reason) as they closed the door quietly before going to bed very silently. I realised that for them, Merlin was still the defenceless manservant that followed Arthur everywhere. But for me, he was Merlin, the great sorcerer. I will have to talk to him. I want to understand what he's afraid of. And also, what he told them to make them forget everything they learned about the sorcerer Merlin in school! I quickly sent him a text and fell asleep before my head even touched the pillow.

*

A few days later, Merlin asked me if I could take an extra hour to eat someday. As my manager was away this week, I told him that I could do that the next day. And the next day, he came to my office, and took me out for lunch. I drove - because Merlin doesn't have a driver's licence (officially...) - to the hill just out of town, and he led me into the forest.

\- Uhm, Merlin ? I know you said 'don't ask', but I start to want answers...

He smiled wickedly and stopped walking. He tossed me the bag he carried on his shoulder and looked around. If it wasn't Merlin, and his reassuring presence, I would be slightly concerned...

\- Close your eyes and don't cheat.

I did what he said and I heard him say words in a language I didn't understand. I knew it was magic. I felt the air change. Actually, I felt the temperature change...

\- Open your eyes!

We were on a beach, the moon was lighting up the night and the waves were creating the most wonderful sound.

\- I knew you would like it," said Merlin, and I could hear his smile.

\- Are you kidding me? How will I ever want to go back to work in," I looked down at my watch, "one hour and a half?!!

\- Not my problem," he shrugged, before turning around and showing me something a few steps away. "Shall we eat now?

\- We shall, but you better explain.

\- What do you mean, _I_ better explain? You asked to talk to me!

\- Yes, well, _I_ would never take you to the other side of the planet just to have a chat with you.

\- Really? And I thought I was your friend... I'm disappointed.

\- Still not agree to give me some magic?

\- I still can't.

\- Then I still won't take you to the other side of the planet to have a chat with you. I can take you to KFC...

\- All right, I'll take it then. Shall we?

\- No! I give up, I'll take the beach, and I'll be the one explaining.

\- Perfect! Have a seat!

He had a whole picnic set, with towels and a basket filled with sandwiches and exotic fruits and beverages. I sat down, sighing emphatically. He laughed. We started eating while chatting about every little thing. He told me again that he was a bit frustrated by the fact that he couldn't do as much magic as he used to. He said that even though he would give it up immediately if it meant keeping Arthur alive, he was still missing it in his everyday life.

\- And that's why I thought I could bring you here, for this chat. You're the only one I could do this with. Arthur would be... disapproving I think.

\- Probably... Actually, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Your magic... Don't you want to talk about it? I mean with the guys? I'm sure they would understand. After all that happened...

\- I know. I'm still terrified though. I don't know how they'll react! What if they reject me?

I giggled.

\- Do you realise how this sounds like?

He raised an eyebrow.

\- When will you come out of the closet Merlin?

He rolled his eyes. I kept talking.

\- Obviously, I won't push you. I won't ask you to do something you're not fine with, and I'm pretty sure the actual talk could be very awkward, but you have to think about it. And I'm sorry but I still have the feeling that I talk about your coming-out.

\- To be fair, I probably feel like every gay ever feel about their coming-out, so...

\- But you're so much older than, well, every one ever. Aren't you past this?

\- They're still my family. And now I have them back... I don't know what I'd do if I lose them again.

I sighed, satisfied and full with food.

\- You'll never lose them. But don't get me wrong, I will very much enjoy every lunch time I have with you until you talk to them. And even after. If you know what I mean.

\- Are you trying to say that you want me to teleport you to the other side of the planet every day?

\- Well, maybe not _every_ day, but...

He laughed, and looked at his watch before gasping.

\- You're going to be late! I'll bring you back.

\- I sense that my afternoon is about to be soooo boring...

\- Don't worry, 'not every day' doesn't mean 'never'.

\- Did I ever tell you how I respect you, Great Sorcerer Merlin?

\- Cut the flattery, m'lady. You won't get your daily croissant with that.

\- Worth a try!

On that, he teleported me back to the forest, and after a moment of silence, he zapped me in my car.

\- Nobody was there, and you have to hurry if you don't wanna be late.

\- Thank you Great Lord, for taking such good care of me.

He raised an eyebrow and I saw the smile he was trying to hide. I knew what that meant. Usually, he does that when I make a joke without meaning to. Sometimes, I get the joke, and sometimes I don't. I always blame it on the who-knows-how-many-years he spent all over the planet. This time I didn't get it but I rolled my eyes just in case, and drove back to work.


	8. What if we rewrite the stars? (or dreamed about it)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one with no one new. But, really… ?

February came quickly and even quicker from the moment Alex told me he would come for a few days at the end of the month if I was ok with it. I was DEFINITELY ok. I had told him I had moved in a house-share with a few roommates, including Arthur. We still had a lot of spare rooms so we'd still have a place for him. I told him the same lie Merlin had told the others: he was pretty rich thanks to his family, and he didn't charge much. In fact, he refused that I paid a rent. He told me that he had enough money for a hundred lifetimes even with the money he donates, and he wouldn't charge the others too if it wouldn't be that suspicious. I knew he would find a way to give me my money back if I tried, so I gave up.

Anyway, one Monday night - the only night everyone was there - I found the courage to tell everyone that Alex was coming. I obviously had my fair share of whistling and laughter but once they were done, they actually told me that they were impatient to meet him. Arthur was more careful. After dinner, and after I made everyone swear to not be weird with him and to keep their mouths shut about how I feel about him, I went to talk to the king.

\- Hey, how are you? I can see there's something on your mind.

\- There is. But I do not want to upset you if I say something wrong.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Gwaine pretended to die of shock and I resisted to smile.

\- Go on, I'll know it won't be intentional, and I'll tell you if you say something... upsetting.

\- I will not know how to behave with your friend.

\- What do you mean?

\- When I woke up, I was with you, or with the physicians and the nurses at the hospital. Then, Merlin, and the knights and Gwen. Except when I go out to buy nourishment, I never talk to the people. Not in a way people talk to each other these days. I must admit my ignorance.

\- Oh... I didn't think of that...

\- Don't worry, he'll think you're a weirdo, that's all," said Gwaine who clearly couldn't stop himself from eavesdropping.

\- Gwaine, be careful," said Arthur with his voice that meant trouble.

\- What?" asked Gwaine, shrugging. "If you want to learn how to behave like a human, that's how. You have to get the jokes.

\- He does have a point," I added. "But don't worry, Alex knows the official story, about your amnesia and stuff. I won't find it too strange that you're not fully adapted to living here! Plus he's as good in english as I am, so for every thing a bit odd you'll say, he'll think he lacks the knowledge to understand it.

\- I would prefer if I do not say anything odd.

\- How many years do you have before you?

\- Gwaine!" both Arthur and I said at the same time, though I was definitely more amused than Arthur.

A long pursuit followed. Arthur chased Gwaine through the whole house. We cheered for both Arthur and Gwaine, depending on the moment. Gwaine was laughing out loud from the beginning, and even though Arthur was serious at first, he ended up just as joyful and laughing. Merlin was watching, and I knew he hesitated between laughing and being emotional like a proud parent of a bunch of young kids.

*

The life at the castle - because yes, we took the habit of naming the house “the castle”...- was easy. Everyone was respectful of each other's boundaries and moods. Even Arthur, much to my surprise. I had to admit that Gwen’s influence did miracles on his behaviour. She didn’t even have to do anything, he’s just better with her around. Everyone still does their own grocery shopping and cooking, but we often end up cooking for everyone. We take turns, and even though I noticed that Gwaine rarely eats with us, when he does he EATS like he’s been starving since the knights days. He doesn’t cook much either, but he often comes back from work with groceries, so nobody complains. Plus, given his ability to make “new and amazing” cocktails, I’m not sure I want to try something he’d make. Gwen was not there every night either, but _she_ was a great cook. We actually have an ongoing contest to find who’s the best. For now, Merlin and Leon are competing for first place.

With the false excuse of giving them a bigger and more beautiful room, the guys made a gift to Arthur and Gwen: they remodelled two rooms into one, and arranged it to their tastes. Their new room is very conveniently in the opposite wing from everyone else’s. That way, nobody has to put on with a very simpleton Arthur who doesn’t understand why Elyan is bright red when he sees his sister coming for breakfast with a huge smile on her face. I know Merlin cursed himself thinking he could have done something before with magic, but he still helped the guys to redo the rooms. In fact, I think he - probably magically - did most of it, as he’s the only one of them without a job. He also helped me to make my room the most perfect one ever, by magically showing me a few possibilities. Then when I chose one decoration, we went to buy the paint and the furniture I wanted, and installed it normally.

*

Finally, it was February the 26th. Alex would be there the next day, and I was growing impatient. Everyone else too, but I’m sure only because they were sick of hearing me talking about it. Sadly I couldn’t take a day off the day he was landing, and he assured me he could manage with a cab. He was staying for the weekend and Monday after that, and I had been able to take the Monday morning off. Anyway, we were supposed to meet downtown after work, spend some time there before driving home. I wanted to see him alone first, partially to enjoy his presence on my own, and also to have some time to warn him about my roommates… He still finds it a bit weird to have such a big flat-share, but “after all, why not,” he said. He knows I get along very well with the others, so he’s happy to meet them. And also, he’ll have to live there for a few days, he can’t plan to avoid any other inhabitant of the house! But I ramble…

I found him at the time and place we talked about, and I immediately noticed that he looked less sad than before. It was hard to tell over the phone… He also looked genuinely happy to see me, contrary to the last time around Christmas, when he only needed a shoulder to cry on… He immediately said how happy he was to see me and to be there, and my heart skipped a beat. I was determined to not do anything, nor say anything, and if I could, not think about anything that could happen between us before I’ll be back to France. So I shook my head - internally - and I showed him a bit of the city. We walked past The Excalibur, and I used this perfectly good occasion to talk a bit more about the boys while going back to the car.

\- Et cet hôtel c’est le palace de la ville, l’Excalibur. Une de mes colocs travaille ici. [And this hotel, it’s the town’s palace, The Excalibur. One of my roommates work here.]

\- Ah oui, le 5 étoiles ? Le gars à côté de moi dans l’avion venait là pour le boulot. [Oh yes, the five-star hotel? The guy sitting next to me on the plane is staying there for work.] 

\- Oh bah tranquille… Il fait quoi ? [Oh nice… What does he do?]

\- Acteur. [He’s an actor.]

\- Ah oui, forcément...Bon et au fait, mes colocs… Je t’en ai parlé un peu au téléphone, mais.... [Oh yeah, of course… Well, by the way, my roomies… We talked about them a bit over the phone, but…]

\- Quoi, ils sont bizarres c’est ça ? [What, they’re a bit weird, that’s it ?]” he said with a wink.

\- Non, non, c’est pas ça, c’est juste que… Enfin si. Ils sont un peu bizarres. Mais dans le bon sens ! [No no, it’s not that, it’s just… Actually yes. They’re a little bit weird. But in a good way!]

He looked at me with an amused face. It was not going well…

\- Ok, je vais être directe parce que sinon je vais pas m’en sortir. Avec les gars - euh, et Gwen - on s’entend super bien, on passe quasi tout notre temps libre ensemble, et puis… On fait à manger tous ensemble, tout ça. Le truc c’est qu’on est tous devenu très très proches hyper vite. [Alright, I’ll go straight to the point or I won’t know how to say it. The guys and I - uhm, and Gwen - we get along very well, we spend almost all of our free time together, and… We all eat and cook together for example, all this stuff. The thing is that we grew very very close super fast.]

\- ‘Très très proches’ ? Genre, à quel point proches ? [Very very close? Like, how close?]” he said with a suspicious look. I thought that I was missing something.

\- Comment ça ? [What do you mean?]

\- Bah… genre, très, très _très_ proches ? [Well… like, very, very, _very_ close ?]

\- Oh come on! Non !” I all but yelled in ‘frenglish’ upon realising what he meant. “C’est pas ce que je voulais dire ! On est juste hyper potes ! Oh non d’ailleurs, pitié, pas ça… [That's not what I meant! We’re just great friends! By the way, god please no...” I added, while thinking about how much I would want to punch Arthur in the face if I ever was in a relationship with him. Which could never happen, both because of how in love he and Gwen are, and because of the many punches I would have to give him.

He laughed, before saying:

\- Ok, ok, t’inquiète, j’ai compris. Mais en général tu es bonne juge de caractère alors si tu les apprécies autant, ça doit être des types biens. Vas-y fais moi réviser une dernière fois, histoire que je les impressionne en les connaissant d’emblée. Et au fait, y en a pas un que tu… que t’aimes bien plus que les autres ? Je sais pas, Arthur par exemple ? Enfin tu vois… [Alright, alright, don’t worry, I get it. But usually you’re a good judge of character, so if you like them so much, they must be good guys. So tell me about them one last time, so that I can impress them by knowing them right away. And by the way, isn’t there one that you… like more than the others? I don’t know, like Arthur for exemple? You know…]

It was my turn to laugh. He had unconsciously followed my thoughts.

\- Oh non fais moi confiance, personne. Surtout pas lui… Déjà parce que c’est Arthur… Tu verras… et puis parce qu’il y a Gwen maintenant de toute façon. D’ailleurs, Arthur je pense que tu maîtrises. Le gars amnésique qui se comporte parfois comme s’il était né le siècle dernier. Mais il est génial à part ça. Gwen donc, sa copine maintenant. C’est pas compliqué, c’est la seule fille. C’est elle qui bosse au palace. Y a son frère Elyan, euh… ils se ressemblent suffisamment, tu le reconnaîtras. [Oh no, trust me, no one. Especially him. First because it's Arthur… You'll see... And now there's Gwen anyway. By the way, about Arthur, I think you know him by now. The amnesic guy who sometimes behave like he's born last century. But apart from that, he's great. Gwen, his girlfriend now. It's easy, she's the only other girl. She's the one working at the palace. There's her brother Elyan, uhm… they look alike, you'll recognise him.]

\- Il fait quoi lui déjà ? [What does he do for a living again?]

\- Intérim pour le moment. Sinon il y a Martin, celui qui habitait dans mon immeuble avant. C’est celui qui fait le plus jeune. Shane, le barman dont je te parlais avant. Je te parie ce que tu veux que c’est celui qui te parlera face à face le premier. Limite il nous attendra dehors… En plus il partira assez vite après, il bosse ce soir. Euh Jesse, lui tu pourras pas le louper, c’est le grand blond. Ah non attends ils sont deux… C’est le plus baraque. L’autre grand blond c’est Leon, l’instit. [Temporary work for now. There’s also Martin, who used to live in my building before. He’s the youngest. Shane, the bartender I told you about even before all of this. I bet you anything that he’ll be the first one speaking to you face to face. He might even wait for us outside… Besides, he’ll leave soon after, he works tonight. Uhm, there’s Jesse, you won’t miss him, he’s the tall blond guy. Oh wait, there’s two of them… He’s the burlier. The other tall blond guy is Leon, the teacher.]

\- Ok, on va essayer de se souvenir de tout ça… [Alright, I’ll try to remember that…]

We kept talking about this and that while walking, and while I drove to the castle. Alex was clearly impressed by the house and I laughed at his surprise. I parked and we went to the door. I knew for sure that everyone would wait for us in the living-room… Well, except Percival and Leon who were still at work at this time. As I thought, they were there… Arthur was right behind the door and Gwaine had opened it before I could even grab the handle. Ensued a chorus of salutations and useless introductions. But everyone seems to behave normally, so it was nice. As expected too, Gwaine grabbed Alex and took him to the side to talk to him. I made a meaningful look at Alex who laughed. I don’t know what they talked about - well, what they talked about was obvious, it is more the how that I don’t know about - but Alex came back with a weird look on his face. But he was still smiling and laughing at Merlin’s joke, so it was all good. Gwaine left soon after, and Percival and Leon came back home right before dinner, and they got along well with Alex too. We had a great night.

*

We spend the next day just the two of us together at the nearest beach. The weather was so fine that we couldn’t not go to the sea! It was freezing and windy, but the sun was bright and we ate awesome seafood. We talked just like we used to when we were in highschool, going from jokes to deep conversations about life. We talked about his love life too, and he said he was feeling better even though he was still hurt. He was realising how used he was, and that didn’t feel good. But it was an amazing day overall. He fell asleep in the car while I was driving home, and I had time to think. I was just so happy about how this day went! I was not sure because it had been a while since we spent time together like that. And this evening, we were going to have a little party at home with everyone. I let my thoughts do their thing, and I decide - once again - that I didn’t want to risk this friendship for a relationship I was not even sure he wanted. Not yet, not when he was still recovering from the previous bitch. Maybe later. Was I being a coward? Probably. Absolutely in fact. But I was happy with this decision and Avalon came in sight. I had to focus on the road again.

We spend the rest of the afternoon with the boys, preparing food and funny decorations. We had realised that we never had a housewarming party, so we had decided to throw one that saturday. The decorations were therefore absolutely hilarious. “Welcome home”, “Happy retirement”, “Get well soon” and even a “It’s a girl!” with the word “girl” crossed and replaced by “home”. We had balloons everywhere, and Leon and Merlin had outdone themselves with the food. I was often checking on Alex, to see if he was having as much fun as me. After all, they were my friends, not his… Luckily, he was laughing a lot. Sometimes though, I caught a look I didn’t know the meaning of, when he was looking at the others, especially Arthur. But it was probably just my imagination. He seemed to have a good time after all, I shouldn’t worry too much. When Gwen arrived after her long day, she was welcome with exclamations of joy, and expressions of hunger - obviously from Gwaine’s side of the room. She apologized for arriving so late, but a big event was planned at the palace the next day, so she had a busy day. Everyone said that she had nothing to apologize for, and especially a sheepish Gwaine. It was still early after all, and just the right time for dinner.

At some point, Alex went out of the room, and immediately everyone else started to talk in old english. They rarely did that, as I didn’t know the language - or so they thought. The only time I heard their language was between two or three of them, and they switched to english whenever they saw me. It was the first general conversation I witnessed, and the first time I was so evidently ignored. They didn’t know I kept working with the book I bought so long ago, and I was happy to realise I was understanding most of it. They were talking about Alex, asking each other their opinions. I pretended not to understand for a bit, and went to pick up some food while listening. Leon was thinking that he was nice, and smart. Percival added he was a fun guy, and Gwaine obviously made a comment about his hotness. I’m not sure the word for ‘hot’ meant anything else but a temperature back in the days, but he still used it. Elyan mentioned that he was really respectful and Gwen said that he was apparently a good guy, and that he seemed to be a good friend to me, and also asked the guys if this was some kind of trial? I smiled. Merlin asked Arthur what he thought. He sighed.

\- Anna is a good friend of ours. We must take care of her as much as she took care of us. We must be sure that this man she held in such high esteem will never hurt her in any way. Knights, I ask you to-

I choose this moment to interrupt:

\- Does anyone want anything to drink while I’m at it?” I innocently asked in old english.

Their faces were priceless, and Alex went back at this moment.

\- What happened?

\- Nothing. Want a drink?” I asked.

And we let them all with their mouth wide open for a while. At some point, they must have recovered from the shock, because they went back to laugh and talk, even though they looked a bit freaked out.

*

At 11pm, Alex suddenly got up and asked if we had a tv. He explained that the guy he was sitting next to on the plane, with whom he had talked during the flight, was an actor, and one of the tv shows he was in was airing tonight at 10:30pm. We were late but he still wanted to have a look. Out of curiosity, we all went to the tv room, and I turned BBC1 on. It was a nice show about musketeers, I always liked these things. Alex said that he’ll tell us when the guy will be on, and Arthur took the opportunity to tell us what he was thinking about how the actors were fighting. Everyone rolled their eyes, amused. But suddenly, he stopped and turned pale, fixing the screen. I turn my head back to the tv, as Alex said:

\- That’s him! Right there, playing Aramis, that’s the guy!

Everyone else was silent, and a look at them told me that something else was happening. Alex didn’t realise it, and kept watching. Percival left the room. Gwen had tears in her eyes, Arthur seemed to hesitate between being sad and angry, Merlin had chosen to be sadder than I ever saw him, and Elyan, Gwaine and Leon looked sad too and maybe a bit ashamed. They were looking at their feet. Arthur finally stormed out of the room, and Gwaine and Leon followed, slowly. Gwen was staring at the screen and finally left, clearly crying. Elyan went after her. Merlin was not moving. I made a gesture towards him, and raised an eyebrow. He all but whispered:

\- Lancelot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I swear I tried to resist making this new Lancelot a Santiago Cabrera-like. I swear I tried. But I failed...  
> So, just a clarification : this Lancelot happened to be an actor, who happened to star in a musketeers show. BUT HE IS NOT SANTIAGO CABRERA in any way. But I couldn't resist using Aramis just a little bit <3


	9. One for all and all for one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one I bet you were waiting for. I know I waited for a few chapters !

I opened my eyes wide and looked back at the screen. I mouthed: “This guy? Aramis?” and Merlin nodded. I put my hand on my face, already thinking about what they’ll imagine to ‘wake’ him up. During one of our secret conversations, when Merlin was telling me a lot of secrets he couldn’t share with the knights, and sometimes even with Arthur, he had told me a lot about Lancelot. What happened between him and Gwen, how he died, and how he went back. Except that was not really him, and that ruined a lot of how the others saw him, especially Arthur. So I knew that as much as Percival or Merlin would want him back, Arthur would greatly hesitate. Merlin took my arm and whispered in my ear:

\- I need to talk to you,” he said while making a head gesture toward Alex, clearly indicating that he wanted to talk to me _alone_.

\- Alex ? Je te laisse regarder si tu veux, Merl- Martin voulait me montrer un truc [Alex? You can keep watching if you want, but Merl- Martin wanted to show me something,]” I said louder.

\- Ok, ok,” he said, laughing at something from the show.

When we went back to the living room, nobody was there. Merlin teleported me in his room, and once I found my balance back, I asked:

\- What’s up? Something wrong? I mean, something else other than the obvious?

\- Lancelot knew.

\- Knew what?

\- About me.

\- About you what? Come on Merlin.

\- About my magic.

\- About your… Oh fuck.

\- Indeed.

\- You have to tell them about Lancelot… You saw how miserable they were! And if you tell them about him, you’ll probably have to tell them about your magic too, right?

\- I don’t think I have a choice anymore.

\- I’m sorry it happens like that. I know you would have prefered if uhm… if you could decide for yourself.

\- Me too… By the way, could you find something to tell your friend about Lance? Like if he knows where he was going or something.

\- Oh I know that, he told me he was staying at The Excalibur for work. Oh. Now that I think of it, maybe it’s for this big event Gwen was telling us about.

\- I’ll have to be quick then… The event is tomorrow, he might leave right after… We can’t miss this opportunity, I don’t know if we could get in touch with him after.

\- Really _Mer_ lin?” I said with an incredulous look.

\- Alright, I don’t know if I could get in touch with him, in a _non magical way._

\- That’s better,” I said, smiling widely to make him feel better.

\- Oh god, I think I have to do it now…” he sighed. “Stay with your friend, I’ll take them to the roof.

\- Need help to gather everyone?

\- I’ll find them.

\- All right. You know where to find me. Good luck Merlin.

\- I’ll need it.

\- Don’t worry, it’s going to be fine.

\- I still don’t know how they’ll…

\- They will understand. Might take them a bit of time, but they’ll be fine.

To be honest, I had thought about what everyone’s reaction could be, and I was not entirely sure about any of them. The only thing I knew for sure was that they loved Merlin and would never turn their back on him. They may need time, as I said, but they’ll see the truth at some point. Merlin was Merlin, with or without magic. Besides, they never said anything wrong about the magic that surely brought them back here and now, so I was counting that as a win.

I went back to the tv room with Alex, and said that everyone went to sleep. He thought it was weird, so I gave him the best excuse I came up with while getting down the stairs to join him. I was actually quite proud of myself on that one... They had “recognised” this Aramis guy from their childhood, and he was not a happy memory for all of them. They had to think about if they wanted to go meet him or not. Alex said he didn’t know that almost all of them knew each other since childhood, and I cursed myself. But apparently, it was not so strange, so he bought it. Then he surprised me:

\- C’est trop bizarre… Ces types… et Gwen je veux dire… J’ai l’impression de les connaître. Enfin, je les connais pas, mais… Ils me sont familiers, tu vois ? [It’s so weird… Those guys… and Gwen I mean… I feel like I know them. Well I don’t, but… They seem familiar to me, you know what I mean?]

\- Oooh oui je vois…[Oooooh yes I know…]

\- C’est comme si… Je sais pas, comme s’ils avaient un truc en plus. Quand ils sont tous ensemble, ils sont hyper impressionnants, on dirait presque… Non laisse tomber tu vas te foutre de moi. [It’s like… I don’t know, it’s like if they had something more. When they are together, they’re pretty impressive, it almost seems like… No nevermind you’ll make fun of me.]

\- Non non, promis ! [No no, I won’t, promise!]

\- Enfin tu les connais mieux que moi, non ? T’as pas cette impression là ? [I mean, you know them better than I do, right? You don’t have this feeling?]

\- Mais quelle impression ? [But what feeling?]

\- On dirait une famille royale ou quelque chose comme ça ! Je sais pas, des nobles… Et puis vu que ça se voit qu’ils tournent tous autour d’Arthur, et qu’on est évidemment à Avalon, moi ils me font penser au roi Arthur et à ses chevaliers. [They seem like a royal family or something like that! I don’t know, nobility… And since it’s clear they all gravitate around Arthur, and since we had to be in Avalon, I can only think about King Arthur and his Knights,]” he said, looking down at his hands. 

\- …

\- Je sais que c’est absurde, mais ici tout tourne autour de Camelot, j’y ai forcément pensé. Enfin en tout cas, c’est une belle bande d’amis que tu t’es trouvé. On voit vraiment qu’on peut leur faire confiance. [I know it’s nonsense, but everything is about Camelot here, I had to think about it. Well anyway, that a nice bunch of friends you found. It’s obvious that they’re trustworthy,]” he continued, still not looking at me.

I was in shock. He finally looked at me. I probably had my mouth wide open, and my eyes too.

\- Quoi ? [What?]

\- Non, rien, c’est juste… Oui, tu as raison, moi aussi, enfin, j’avais pas vu ça comme ça, mais, oui, je vois ce que tu veux dire, c’est… [No, nothing, it’s just… Yes, you’re right, me too, I mean, I never thought about it that way, but, yeah, I see what you mean, it’s…]” I said.

\- Je t’ai perturbé on dirait. [I guess I just troubled you,]” he said, laughing.

I laughed too, to keep the apparences. And right on time, I yawned. It was not intentional, or at least not deliberate. I mumbled something about being tired, and I basically ran away as soon as we said goodnight.

It had been such a strange night. I suppose I should have been used to by then, but honestly… this night topped every other, hands-down. I had so many things in my head I couldn’t sleep… Lancelot, Merlin’s secret that was about to not be a secret anymore, and maybe the weirdest thing was Alex’s feelings about the knights. I had no idea about what to make of it. Was it a feeling that anyone could feel providing that they spend some time with them? Was it something about Alex? But I felt that too somehow… He was trusting them even though he barely knew them, he was feeling that they were nobles or something. I had believed Arthur so easily when he had told me he was the King, and as soon as I saw Merlin doing magic, I had accepted it just as quickly. But we were definitely not from back then, or we would have remembered by now, right? And then my mind thought by itself, going from this to the reason of their presence today, to wondering if the knights had other lives before this one, or if they were only born again this time. I probably fell asleep at some point, my phone still in my hand as I was waiting for someone to text me. I didn’t know who, but I had the feeling the Anna Chevalier Helpline would be useful again.

I woke up with a start, as someone was loudly knocking at my door. Someone was saying my name. I recognise Arthur’s voice, along with his way of knocking at doors. Not a gentle way…

\- Whaaaat ?” I grumbled.

\- Anna, wake up, we need your help.

\- I AM awake now, thank you, and I need a coffee.

I heard him saying something inaudible, and some noises behind the door.

\- Leon is making you some. Will you drink it with us?

\- All riiiight mom, give me a minute. Or two. I’ll be there.

Ten minutes later, I went downstairs and found the guys in the living room. I knew Gwen was supposed to be at work, but I noticed Merlin was absent too. I didn’t know if it was a good sign… A hot cup of coffee was waiting for me, and I took it gratefully. They were all waiting for me to say something, so I took a long sip, sighed, and said : “Yes?” Not a bright idea… They all started talking together, and only heard some words. Some I expected, like “Merlin”, “magic”, “wow!”, “never imagined”, “hide” or “how”, and others I hadn’t thought about. “Should have guessed”, “awesome”, “scared”, “explains a lot”. I considered telling them to only speak one at a time, but after all, it gave me a bit more time to drink my coffee. So I nodded at them, trying all the same to understand what they tried to say. Finally, they started to realise what was going on and they shut up one after the other. Obviously the last one talking was Arthur, but he stopped as soon as he realised it. As far as I understood, he was obviously more concerned about Lancelot than about Merlin’s magic… So I looked at them all, and said:

\- I’m not awake enough to do this with all of you. But before anything else, where is Merlin? Oh and Alex too. Knowing him, he’s awake for a few hours already.

\- Merlin took him to the market, we don’t have much food left,” said Leon.

\- Good.

The fact that Merlin was not some forbidden name was good news. So I grabbed the first arm I came across and pulled it to the library. I love this room, so cosy, warm, and especially a dim light. I collapsed into a comfy couch and looked at who I took with me. Elyan seemed a bit confused.

*

After a solid hour of talking to everyone, I took a break. I supposed that Merlin and Alex would be back anytime, but I had to breathe a bit. It was almost exactly as I had imagined. Elyan was taking it rather well, even though he had a lot of questions. But it was not the strangest thing he had heard in either of his lifetimes, or at least that’s how it seemed to me. Leon actually surprised me. He had guessed it back then, and his time here, learning and teaching Arthur Pendragon’s stories had made him wonder about the Merlin he knew since he was ‘awake’. It was not that much of a surprise to him. And he told me in a low voice that Gwen probably felt the same, as they had discussed it for years. Percival and Gwaine talked to me together, and Gwaine had a huge smile on his face. He was the one that had said “I should have guessed!” and “awesome!” obviously. Percival was more curious about how Merlin had hidden it, and how he had lived with such a huge secret. He was concerned and a bit sad for his friend. And then Arthur… When he had talked to me, it was all unfinished sentences, and concern, and anger, and sadness, and fear, and frown. Especially frowns, when I think about it. But contrary to the guys, he was only confused about Lancelot...

\- How could he be-? Why-? How!! But he was. How? Treason… lie…

I mainly let him speak, because something I was sure of was that Merlin hadn’t explain them about Lancelot yet. He probably wanted to make things easier… I couldn’t blame him. But the big event at The Excalibur was only this week-end, and the occasion to see Lancelot could pass. So as soon as I was ready - meaning showered and dressed - I went back downstairs hoping to find Merlin. He was there, for sure. But the general feeling was awkward to say the least. The guys were making lunch in a heavy silence. Alex looked at me, clearly relieved that I was back, and said in a low voice:

\- Il se passe quoi là ? T'es au courant ? J'ai loupé un truc ? Je suis allé au marché avec Martin et c'était normal, enfin aussi normal que ça puisse être avec lui, et depuis qu'on est rentré, c'est trop bizarre avec les autres… je croyais que c'était avec Sebastian qu'ils avaient un problème, pas avec Martin. [What’s happening? Do you know? Did I miss something? I went to the market with Martin and it was normal, well as normal as it can be with him, but since we came back here, it’s so weird with the others… I thought they had a problem with Sebastian, not with Martin.]

\- Sebastian ?

\- Le gars de l'avion, leur pote d'enfance. [The guy from the plan, their childhood friend.]

\- Ah oui, je savais pas son nom. [Oh yeah, I didn’t know his name,]" I said, and Alex looked at me with a strange look.

To be honest, I didn't bother asking for his name and I was sure nobody did either. He was Lancelot.

\- Tu sais ce qu'ils ont ? [Do you know what’s the problem?]" he asked again.

\- Je crois qu'ils se sont un peu pris la tête hier soir à propos de ça, mais c'est tout. [I think they just got into a bit of a fight yesterday night, about all that, but that’s all,]" I shrugged.

\- Euh, tu crois que ça les aiderait si j'avais son numéro de téléphone ? [Hum, do you think it could help them if I happened to have his phone number ?]

Merlin's head snapped right up. Of course he understood french… I already knew about it but I have to admit I had forgotten. I suddenly hoped he was the only one… But as the others hadn't reacted, I thought we were safe. Arthur was still angrily cutting vegetables, angry because of Lancelot being around, because he didn't like when he didn't understand us, and also because he didn't like to cook. And given Percival's face who looked at the destroyed vegetables in front Arthur, he was about to be angry because someone was about to tell him to stop. I saw Merlin nodding slightly.

\- Bah écoute, ça peut servir, tu risques rien à leur proposer. [Well, that could be useful, you can always offer it to them.]

\- Euh, guys ?” Alex then said. “I have Sebastian's phone number if you want.

\- He gave him to Alex after _meeting him on the plane_ ,” I quickly added seeing the lost faces of Gwaine or Arthur. I knew they would have the same name-problem as me…

Alex looked at me like I was crazy. Again. But he was the one almost believing that they were the Knights of the Round Table so the joke's on him. Arthur put down his knife, even angrier as before, and began to leave the room. I saw the desperate look Merlin made towards him, and then he looked at me, at a loss of words for once.

\- Arthur?” I said before correcting myself - after all, he was the only one who was not supposed to be part of this ‘childhood pack’. “Uhm, guys? I think they’re something you don’t know about Lanc- Sebastian. Martin doesn't know how to say it, I think, but…” and I saw that Merlin was still looking at me, almost pleading. “Alright, so as far as I understood, when he did uhm, hurt you or something, he was not well, himself. But really Martin you’ll do this better than me.

How could I say anything in front of Alex? So Merlin switched language to old english and - as far as I understood - explained the spell Lancelot was under the last time he was seen in Camelot.

\- C’est moi ou ils parlent plus anglais là ? [Is it me or they don’t speak english anymore?]” asked Alex, who was clearly confused as to what was happening.

\- C’est du euh, gaélique. [It’s hum, Gaelic,]” I said. Luckily, I had already thought about this excuse a while ago. It would have been too much for my brain on a sunday morning. I was actually impressed with how I handled all this… And that is something to say...

\- Et tu comprends ? [And you understand it?]

\- Ah non, que dalle. [Oh no, not a clue,]” I said you know, like a liar.

Poor Alex… He was clearly trying to understand something - anything! - that was happening since yesterday night, and he clearly wasn’t succeeding. So I took pity on him, and kicked the guys out of the room. I offered that we make lunch, and let them talk. That way, we would be able to spend some _normal_ time together. Alex recovered indeed pretty fast, and just shrugged, mumbling something about how they “will find the right thing to do either way, they’re all good people.” I thought that I really needed to have a talk with Merlin. I was starting to wonder if he hadn’t done something to him to make him trust everyone so easily.

At lunch time, we brought the food to the dining room, hoping to find everyone else here, and in a better mood if possible. Well… Apparently the story about Lancelot had made everyone forget their concerns about Merlin’s magic! They were smiling bright and talking and joking. Percival was silent, but I hadn’t seen him that happy since the day Gwen had taken him to dinner. As soon as we entered the room, Gwaine practically threw himself at Alex, weirdly, and took the plate out of his hands.

\- Alex, my man! Bringing us food! That’s awesome! YOU’re awesome!

Percival bursted out laughing, something rare enough to make everyone jump of surprise. He was high on cheerfulness or something. Merlin was beaming too obviously. But Gwaine’s sudden interest in Alex was suspicious at least. Alex realised it too, and looked at him warily. Elyan rolled his eyes and took the plate before something happened to it in Gwaine’s hands. Then Arthur cleared his throat and everyone calmed down. The Red Sea opened and the Knights separated themselves in two, letting Arthur come to Alex. I rolled my eyes - once again - at the unintentional theatricality. Alex almost seemed scared. I realised that Arthur was probably about to say something he was not supposed to - as an amnesiac. So I interrupted the whole scene in the probably least natural way I could think of.

\- So Arthur, what do you think? You know the guys pretty well, but not Sebastian. What’s your opinion on this?

Arthur looked at me like I was crazy - I was getting used to that… But I saw the realisation hitting him. He nodded slightly and turned to Alex.

\- Alex, you are a good friend to us, and the boys have something to ask you. They do not know how to phrase it and asked me to talk. I am a better orator than all of them after all. So, it seems that you have crossed _their_ old friend Lan- Sebastian’s path, and even though they all had different memories of him, it seemed that the bad ones happened when he was not in full possession of his faculties, and therefore, we should not take that into account.

\- So he was drunk, right? Or stone maybe?” added Alex when Arthur raised an eyebrow.

\- No. It was not- It does not matter. You said that you have in your possession a way to contact this man.

\- Euh, yes, yes I have his phone number. He said I could call him this weekend if I wanted, we could have a drink or something. I think he said he’d be happy to relax after his work-related event, and that he was staying until monday morning.

\- Do you think you could invite him here? And if that is not too much to ask, without telling him about them? We thought it could be a nice surprise.

\- Hum, why not, but I mean, I would not want to… how to say it… lure him into some kind of trap? I mean if he does want to see you again. With all due respect, you know, it’s just that sometimes, you don’t want to see your childhood friends again, especially in case of bad memories. I kinda liked the guy, I would not want him to have a bad moment by my fault.

I could tell Arthur was annoyed, and I had to bite my lips super hard to prevent me from saying something. I was proud of Alex because he had said the exact same thing I tried to say when we found Gwaine… I noticed that Merlin’s eyes were laughing too. He opened his mouth but Gwaine spoke up first.

\- Listen man, the truth is that we really miss him. All of us, we kinda lost contact for a while, until Martin came back in town and we found each other again, mostly out of luck,” he said with a wink to me. “And before talking to me, he had the same reservations about it. What if I didn’t want to see him again? What if I didn’t like him anymore? And to be honest, once I saw him I even had those concerns. I was not sure I deserved them or something, because our past together - our childhood if you want - it was amazing. It’s like it was in a different time. All of us, we were so close and suddenly so far away. Sebastian probably doesn’t even remember the bad stuff, as it was mostly a huge misunderstanding. So what Arthur’s trying to say, with big fancy words, is: please, we’re begging you, can you help us?

It was probably the first time I saw Gwaine being so serious. Well, since he tried to leave England because he thought he was not worthy or whatever... Alex seemed to see the difference too, because he asked:

\- It’s that important to you guys? _He_ is that important?

Everyone nodded, and Percival added the pleading eyes.

\- Alright then, I’ll do it. When do I invite him?

\- Anytime he can, especially if he’s not here for long,” answered Leon before Arthur could.

Alex made the call. Sebastian picked up, and apparently agreed with enthusiasm to come to a “party” that night, after dinner. Alex told us he was already tired of fake smiling and a relaxing evening was a great prospect.

After an awkward lunch, I got out with Alex, and we went walking in the forest outside of town. At some point, I got a text from Gwen in the group chat:

QG- “i saw him. he didn’t recognise me, but it’s definitely him”

Given what Merlin had told me about the relationships between Lancelot and Gwen, that must not have been an easy moment for her… I hoped they had let her know what was going on here, especially the “Lancelot is not a bad guy” part. Alex was exceptionally undisturbed. He was just as friendly as ever, and was looking forward to the night. He was leaving the day after so he was expecting to enjoy his night as much as possible. He told me again about how nice the guys were, and how he had the weird feeling of finding where he belonged. Right after that, he faked a laugh and pretended it was just a joke, but I knew better. I was deeply puzzled. His thoughts mirrored mine in a way I‘d never had believed.

*

We ate outside, at the simple but nice restaurant I had taken Arthur the first day I took him outside of the hospital. It was a lovely evening. I was happy to realise that I could behave normally with my friend, without flirting, and without embarrassing myself. We went home rather early after that, as Alex wanted to be home to greet Sebastian. I was not sure it was such a bright idea, but I couldn’t come up with a good excuse.

Gwen got home at the same time as us, and I sent Alex inside to have a few minutes alone with her. She said Merlin had told her everything, and that it was a relief and sad at the same time. She told me how much she had liked Lancelot, and how heartbroken she was when he left. But she loved Arthur now, with all her heart, and could only hope that Lancelot's feelings had passed with the (many) years. She wanted to find her friend back, without the awkwardness… She wanted to talk to Arthur before Lancelot came, so we went inside and I saw her go to their room with Arthur. I didn’t regret not being part of this conversation…

We waited in the living room. It was a weird atmosphere, but Gwaine and Alex were trying to put everyone at ease. For once, Percival was actually the one that did the job, though, and Leon and Elyan were watching him joking and laughing with moved smiles. Percival couldn’t stay seated, and he was feeding us with stories that he was miming. It was actually stories of old times with Lancelot, but Alex seemed to think it was just legends.

At the exact hour he had said, someone rang the bell outside. Arthur, Gwen, and Merlin - who had been away God knows where - appeared almost like magic (even though I don’t have any doubt about Merlin…). Nobody moved and they just all looked at me. I rolled my eyes.

\- Really? Again?” I said to them. But only Alex answered me.

\- It’s not my home… Would be weird if I went to open the door. Alone I mean.

\- I swear sometimes all of you almost make me believe I have seven children. Or eight with Alex. Come on, kiddo, we’ll open the door to your little friend.

He laughed and followed me to the door. I opened it and god did they all have to be so good looking…

\- Hi Seb! How are you?” said Alex. “It’s great to have you!

\- You have no idea how much you’re saving my life right now. If it weren’t for you, I’d have to spend an evening with the producers and trust me, they’re nice and all, but noooo fun. You must be Anna?” he said with the most charming smile ever. I grew immune to the charms of the other knights by now, but he was new and I was blushing hard.

\- Yes, I’m her. I mean, I’m Anna. Yes, it’s me.

\- Alex told me so much about you, nice to meet you!

\- Oh, really? Hum, nice to meet you too.

\- Come on, get in, Anna’s roomies are inside. You’ll see, they’re great,” said Alex, leading him in.

\- They’re great, but they’re… you could say they’re a bit weird? In a nice way though, but…” I said before I could stop myself. Lancelot raised an eyebrow. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have… Don’t be scared, you’ll love them.

Now Alex was eyeing me with a “what the fuck?” expression that I ignored. I didn’t know what was about to come. I didn’t really know how the guys and Gwen would react. There was also the fact that Alex was about to witness something more or less inexplicable because I couldn’t come up with an excuse to spare him. And of course the fact that Lancelot should wake up. Merlin had told us he was not himself the last time he was around, but there was still the possibility that he’d remember. And what about his feelings for Gwen? According to Merlin, when he - the real him - died, he did it partially out of love for her. If he woke up still in love, that would be a problem. Maybe he was about to become the first one to regret being ‘awake’. I didn’t want that for him, nor for any of them. Percival was so happy to see his friend again… And Merlin! Obviously, the most brokenhearted would be Lancelot himself, but…

But my thoughts had led us back to the living room. Alex was first, and I was just beside Lancelot when we arrived in the living room and saw everyone. I quickly turned my head to watch him. And indeed he woke up. I saw even more emotions on his face than the others. Surprise, pain, fear, puzzlement, physical pain also, sadness… He frowned a lot, he squeezed his arms against himself and winced in pain, he looked at Gwen with sadness and at Arthur with despair. It all happened rather quickly, but Alex reacted before anyone else.

\- Are you ok man? You seemed… sick or something? I’m sorry they persuaded me it would be a good surprise for you… What a coincidence, right? I mean, I fly with you one day, and the same evening I met all your childhood friends! I wanted to watch your show last night, so I put it on and they recognised you, it was kinda weird to be honest. Then they- hey, for real, are you ok?

He always had this bad habit of talking way too much when under stress… Sebastian - or Lancelot - was indeed very pale, and now only seemed terrified.

\- Where am I? Who are you? This must be some kind of trick again,” he said, and he reached for something at his side - his sword, obviously.

Percival made a step towards him, but Lancelot raised a hand defensively.

\- Stay where you are! You are shadows, tricks to make me believe something that can not be true. This whole life has been. What is the point of all this?” he yelled, like if he was talking to someone that was not there.

\- Anna?” whispered Merlin. He was on the other side of the room, but I heard him like he was talking in my ear.

I sighed, and raised my hands in a non threatening way.

\- Lanc-Seb- Sir? If I may? My name is Anna. I’m not here to hurt you in any way. Nobody is, in fact. We’re here to help you.

\- What?” I heard Alex say. I ignored him and kept talking to Lancelot, who was actually listening to me - a good start.

\- If you let me, I can explain. Well, what I know at least.

\- Who are you? I don’t recognise you. If you’re meant to look like someone I knew, you failed. You got King Arthur and Merlin and the others right, but you… You don’t look like anything to me,” he added, almost mean.

\- First of all, outch. Second of all, it’s normal, I never met you until tonight. I’m not from… back then. I can explain all that if you just… drop that knife,” because yes, at some point he had taken a knife from the coffee table.

He only then seemed to realise what he had in hand, and dropped it like he got burned. Alex took this opportunity to say, loud enough to be heard by anyone:

\- Did he just say King Arthur? And Merlin?

\- Alright. Guys? Will you leave the room for a while please? And take Alex with you. Tell him… whatever you want, after all you got him into this mess. Figure it out,” I grumbled. Then I turned back to Lancelot. “Sir? Will you accept to sit down? Or do you prefer to go for a walk outside? Or something else?

He still looked lost, and he watched the guys leave. They seemed so sad too… Alex was only looking very intrigued though… I sighed and put on my shrink hat. Lancelot dropped himself on the couch, and I cautiously chose another seat.

\- So… Hi, my name is Anna, and I’m really here to help you. I mean, right now maybe I can help you understand all this… Let’s start with something simple. What’s your name?

\- I’m Sir Lance- No I’m Seb- What is happening to me?” he asked with another panicked look on his face.

\- Alright, I’ll start talking then, maybe you’ll have the time to figure things out.

And I told him the story of his friends, mainly of how they came back. I didn’t mention their past deaths, nor Merlin’s magic. I knew that when he had come back, or at least a bewitched version of him, he didn’t know his friend’s secret anymore and I knew Merlin would want to be sure he’s really him before saying too much. While I was talking, I saw that he was not registering everything. He was clearly trying to deal with how he felt, but he didn’t stop me. Then I waited for him to react, or maybe to ask some questions, but he stayed quiet for a while. And finally, more to himself than to me, he said:

\- How do I know it’s the truth?

\- I don’t know, I’m sorry. I have no proof of what I told you, nothing that will show you that you can trust me. You’ll have to follow your feelings, whatever it says. I don’t want to force you to believe me, or to trust us, or even to stay here a minute longer. You’re still free, whatever Arthur would say.

\- Do you… really believe all that?” he asked suspiciously, like I was part of some scheme.

He didn’t seem ready to trust me… He got up and stood like if he was ready to run and given the situation, it was probably the case. But he didn’t seem frightened anymore, just wary and a bit mad. I counted that as a victory…

\- Yes. I mean… I don’t really know how to be honest, I’m a scientist, I’m rational, I shouldn’t believe that. But I do. I didn’t believe in magic before, but when I saw Gwaine’s face the moment he saw Arthur and Merlin… And after that, one after the other, you all remembered… Unless you’re all accomplice of some sort of huge scam, I don’t see any other explanation. And to be true, even without those “proofs”, I can feel that it’s the truth. I believed Arthur, even before I met Merlin or Gwaine. I trusted him when he told me he was a king. I don’t know, I suppose you’ll have to do what your heart decides or something. Feels like a rom-com line but you know…

\- And what if I want to go?

\- Then go. I’ll convince them to let you do whatever you want. We didn’t give you the choice to remember, the least we could do is to give you the choice about what you want to do with your memories.

\- You’ll do that?

\- Yes.

\- Why?

\- What do you mean?

\- Arthur won’t let me go that easily, if only it’s him. Aren’t you at his service?

\- Shhhh!! Don’t say that! He’ll end up believing it! No I’m absolutely not! I’m not a servant, not that I have anything against your time’s servants but I’m a modern girl, I’m independant and only at my own service. We’re just friends. But he better let you go… I’ll make him. He’s as stubborn as a mule but we’ll make him understand. Might take a decade but it doesn’t matter. You know, the only thing that truly matters here is you. So how he or the other might take it is not important. You can take your time to think, go back to your hotel, then to whoever you’re supposed to go after. And if at some point you want to come back, you know where to find us. I don’t know what else to tell you.

\- You could try to convince me to stay.

\- No. I can try to convince you that we are trustworthy, that they really are who they say they are, but the decision to stay or not is yours, and I think it must only be based on your feelings, and nothing else.

He looked at me with sad eyes and sighed.

\- I believe you. This would be far too evil, and I don’t believe any sorcerer would have enough imagination to plan all this.

I sighed, relieved. He was looking at me almost expectantly. I raised an eyebrow.

\- What would you say to convince me?

\- I don’t want to.

\- Humour me. Why would you want me to stay?

\- Alright, so I’d say they all miss you... You should have seen Percival's face when he recognised you! They love you and they miss you and they want to help you and they would be so happy to see you again. And they seem so happy now that they found each other again! If I had a say in that, I’d love for you to have that too.

\- They _all_ miss me? Even the king?

\- Yes! Why wouldn’t he- oh. Look, a lot of water has passed under the bridge. He married Gwen, he knows she loves him. I don’t really see him as a jealous guy. And trust me, if he only begins to be a jerk about that, Gwen and I will both be mad. Actually, the only problem about that, may be yours. I mean, would you be ok with this situation? I know you liked her.

\- Yes… Yes I did. But I’m married now, and I do love my wife with all my heart.

\- Oh! Well, that could make things easier for Arthur,” I laughed. He did too, slightly, so I asked: “So, what do you think? Want to try to meet them again?

\- I don’t think I’ll ever be ready, but I never back away from a trial, not today, not back then. I can’t start now…

\- Ok so let’s go then!

But before we reached the door, I thought about something and grabbed his arm.

\- Oh wait, wait, there’s something else… Alex… he didn’t know about that, about you, the Knights and stuff. I have no idea what they told him to explain all that, but there’s a possibility that they found a good excuse, and that he still doesn't know who you are, so…

\- Got it. Discretion is _de rigueur._

\- Thanks. But honestly, I really don’t know if _they_ will have any self-control.

He let out a small laugh, then sighed deeply and opened the door to the kitchen, where they all were.

*

Arthur was in front of the others, his arms crossed, waiting. He was emotionless. I was a bit surprised, but to be fair Arthur was really someone I was not really surprised to be surprised by anymore, if that makes any sense. Lancelot bowed his head at him.

\- King Arthur,” he greeted. So much for discretion...

\- Sir Lancelot,” Arthur answered, very cautiously. “How are you?

\- I’m…

\- Wait, did he say Lancelot?” asked Alex loudly.

\- Shhh!” hissed Leon and Elyan, while Gwaine proceed to put his hands on Alex’s mouth.

Arthur coughed loudly and repeated:

\- Sir Lancelot, how are you?

\- I can’t tell. Uhm, my Lord. Like I just woke up from a dream or something? I still don’t know if I can truly believe what is happening.

\- I can understand that, yet I can assure you that we are indeed real, and moreover, that we really are who we say we are. You will have to trust us on that.

\- I’m deeply sorry, but I think I’ll need proof.

Arthur looked offended. Of course… I stepped up but Merlin spoke first.

\- What kind of proof would you accept?

And then I witnessed one of the longest stare ever. I would have sworn that they were talking to each other or something, but apparently they came to some sort of agreement, because Lancelot nodded and Merlin and him left the room.

\- Merlin!” Arthur called harshly. “Where are you going?

\- Next room?

\- You’re not going anywhere with him as long as we do not know if he trusts us. You do not know what he could be capable of.

\- But Sire…

\- No. Merlin. End of discussion.

\- Right,” I added. “So me and him alone, we were fine, but Merlin and him, no way? Well, watch us. Come Merlin, let’s go.

I rolled my eyes emphatically while walking in front of Arthur who was trying to find something to say against it, got a glimpse of Gwen’s smile and grabbed Merlin by the arm to join Lancelot next door. Then I sat in the farthest seat from them, to give them privacy. Unfortunately, I still was close enough to hear every word. Both Lancelot and Merlin looked at me, so I watched the ceiling with a perfectly innocent look. They knew I could hear them, and also that I'd die pretending I couldn’t.

\- So,” Merlin said, “what do you have in mind?

\- There is something I knew about you, and something you’re supposed to know about me. I want to be sure we remember the same. I can’t take the chance. I already came back to life once, and… Whatever. If you’re right, if you’re really Merlin, from back then, you probably remember the last time we spoke.

\- How can I ever forget...

I was still watching anywhere but them, but I could imagine Merlin’s sad face just with his tone of voice…

\- Then what’s the last word I told you?

\- You… thanked me…” sighed Merlin. “Even though I should have been the one thanking you for everything you ever did for me.

Lancelot coughed weirdly, like if he was embarrassed or something. Then he asked:

\- Can she be trusted?

I couldn’t keep my eyes away, and I turned my head to see the two boys looking at me. Merlin had an eyebrow raised. Then suddenly, he seemed to understand something.

\- Yes. Everything you know about me, she knows it too. Everything important.

\- Then prove to me you’re really Merlin.

\- I’m no fool, Lancelot. If you believe you can be tricked, I can believe that too. I already proved to you I’m Merlin. Now return the favor. You came back to life once, as you said, and I won’t fall for that easily this time.

\- Alright,” sighed Lancelot.

He looked at me one more time. And clearly decided that I was not to be trusted, because he leaned to Merlin and whispered something in his ear. Merlin’s face lit up, he raised his hand and I saw his eyes turning to gold. A red and gold butterfly appeared, and flitted around their heads. Lancelot smiled brightly, and took advantage of being that close to Merlin to pull him into a hug that Merlin gave him back without hesitation. I carefully looked somewhere else, to avoid any risk of getting some dust in my eyes...

\- Hey Merlin, by the way, about what you said, it’s… alright, I never did something I was not sure about. And I still believe you’re the one deserving all the credit.

They kept talking in a low voice, so I discreetly went back to the others. Percival practically jumped when he saw me, and I smiled reassuringly. He sat back, looking quieter but still impatient. Arthur looked at me, ready to ask something, but he closed his mouth probably knowing that I was about to turn him down. He didn’t say anything and this simple effort made me smile. It instantly made me want to be nice to him.

\- You wanted to say something Arthur?” I asked. He looked at me like a kid who had done something wrong. Then he realised I was serious, and I literally saw his shoulders relax. I had no idea I had this kind of power on him. Clearly, the others noticed and had the same thought, given the looks I saw on everyone. Luckily, Arthur didn’t see that.

\- I wanted to ask about what was happening, and why did you come back.

\- I came back because they were talking about stuff that clearly didn’t concern me, and I felt that Merlin was no longer in danger,” I said, like I honestly thought _he_ could be in danger… “So I left them to uhm… catch up. But I’m sure they’ll be here in no time, don’t worry.

In the background, behind the knights, I saw a raised hand. I mentally counted the people here and I cursed at myself.

\- Alex?

\- Do you think the bodyguards could let me go now?

I moved Leon aside and revealed that Alex was sitting in a chair, held down by Elyan and Gwaine’s hands casually on his shoulders. I rolled my eyes and resisted to laugh.

\- Guys… Come on, let him go.

They put on their most innocent faces and raised their hands defensively. Alex stood and made a head gesture towards the door. I nodded and we went outside of the room. He looked rather panicked… I guessed that I was about to know what the guys told him exactly.

\- Ok… Donc… tout ça là… c’est vrai ? [Alright… So… all of this… it’s true?]

\- Tout ça quoi ? [All of what?]

\- Ce que je te disais… Que j’avais presque l’impression que c’était le Roi Arthur, et la Table Ronde, et tout ça. C’est vrai ? [What I was saying… The feeling I had that they were King Arthur, and the Round Table and stuff. It’s true?]

\- C’est ce qu’ils t’ont dit ? [That’s what they told you?]

\- Je m’en fous de ce qu’ils m’ont dit, je veux savoir ce que toi tu en dis. [I don’t care about what they told me, I want to know what you’re saying about it,]” he insisted. I sighed.

\- Alors oui, c’est vrai. Aussi fou que ça puisse paraître. [Then yes, it’s true. As crazy as it seems.]

\- C’est le moins qu’on puisse dire. [That’s the least we could say,]” he grumbled. Then he stopped before adding: “Le pire c’est que ça me paraît même pas bizarre… [The worst thing is that it doesn’t even seem weird…]

\- Bienvenue dans ma vie… [Welcome into my life…]

\- En tout cas, je comprends que tu n'aies plus tellement envie de rentrer maintenant. [At least I understand why you don’t really want to go back home now.]

\- Comment ça ? [What do you mean?]

\- Bah, depuis que tu es là, que tu les a rencontrés, j’ai l’impression que tu n’as plus envie de revenir. Que tu fais ta vie ici. [Well, since you’re here, since you met them, I feel like you don’t want to come back. Like you have your life here,]” he said.

And If I had to guess, I’d say he was a bit sad. I was speechless. I never thought about it actually, but I now had to recognise that I was not really thinking about going home as much as before. There was only one thing that made me want to go home in fact… And that thing was right in front of me for the moment, and saying that I had never pictured a life here, with him on top of everything, would be a lie. I shook my head, it was not the time.

\- Je n’y ai pas encore pensé, en fait, mais tu as peut-être raison… [I hadn't thought about it yet to be honest, but you may be right…]

The expression ‘saved by the bell’ never felt so true, once again - except the bell thing - because at this moment we heard exclamations of happiness erupting from the room we had left. With a look at each other, we went back to see the happy reunion. The rest of the night was made of happy talk, of Percival’s bright smiles and breaking-bones hugs, of laughter, and of questions. That last part was mainly due to Alex, who wanted to know in a night everything I had learned in months. I couldn’t blame him though, and the others also took advantage of it by making him guess the most random things.

*

I woke up way too early and on the couch the next day. A look around told me that I was not the only one. Arthur and Gwen must have found their way to their room, and Leon too, but the others were also on couches or chairs in the room. I quietly made my way to the kitchen, where I found Leon eating his breakfast.

\- Hi there, want some coffee?

\- Yes please,” I answered with a sigh of relief.

\- Slept well?” he asked with an amused smile.

\- I thought so, but my back is telling me the opposite right now. I don’t remember seeing you leave by the way.

\- Gwaine will die telling the opposite, but I was the last one standing last night. So I chose my bed. I do have to go to work this morning, and the kids are not accommodating with lack of sleep. Well, I am sleep deprived, but at least I slept comfortably. I do not envy Percy right now…

\- You know the problem with you? Or the great thing, depending… It’s so rare when you say bullshit, that the day you do, we will believe you immediately. And I’m pretty sure it will be the day Gwaine decides to not say bullshit, and we won’t even look twice at it. He will DIE.

Leon took a sip of coffee with a small - and might I add, proud - smile.

He shortly after left for work, and I went to wake Percival up because he’ll have to go too at some point. I tried to do it quietly but Alex heard me too. Gwaine and Elyan just shifted their positions a bit and grunted. We laughed silently and Percival almost tenderly picked up the fallen plaid to put it back on Merlin’s back. We retreated back to the kitchen, and this time I ate breakfast too. Percival was over the moon and kept retelling us stuff from last night, as if we weren’t there. But it was still hilarious, so… When he went upstairs to shower and get ready for work, Alex and I fell silent. Until he said:

\- J’ai pas envie de rentrer. [I don’t want to go back home.]

If I had still coffee in my mouth, I would have spit it in a cartoon style.

\- Quoi ?! [What?!]

\- J’ai pas envie de rentrer. Bah, j’ai pas le choix, mais… C’était vraiment des supers vacances. [I don’t want to go home. Well, I don’t have a choice but… It was some really great holiday.]

\- Tu as à peine passé 3 jours ici mais ok. [You barely spend three days here but ok.]

\- Ça semblait plus. [It felt longer,]” then he sighed. “Faut que j’aille faire mon sac. On part à 9h c’est ça ? [I have to go prepare my stuff. We leave at 9 right?]

I nodded. I had to take him to the airport before going to work. He left me in a waking dream… Soon after, Gwaine joined me and all but collapsed on the table near me. He settled his head against my arm and grumbled. I laughed a bit but still asked:

\- Are you alright?

\- I miss having someone in my bed.

\- Oh, alright, a bit unexpected and random but fine. What do you suggest?

\- Going out without a pack of knights and a disapproving king could do the trick. Well, the pack of knights is fine I guess. It’s more the disapproving king that seems to… dishearten me.

\- And you thought of that just now?

\- No, more like when I realised I wanted to flirt with Alex but couldn’t because you already like him and I’d never do that to you.

\- In your defense, he’s also straight as hell.

\- There’s that too.

\- And what stops you for going out alone?

\- Arthur’s face I pictured when I tell him? The others' faces? I’m pretty sure they’d take it as some treason. That they’ll be disappointed somehow. And you know, I don’t care about my rep as a tavern guy. I mean, look where I work nowadays! But I can’t stand letting them down again,” he let out, before putting his head in his arms on the table.

\- Oh c’mon… I thought that phase was over. You didn’t let them down, never! And they’d understand, I’m sure they would. They are hum… modern guys too.

\- Even Arthur?

\- He’s… learning. He’s trying at least.

\- Anyway, if I ever go out, I can count on my wingwoman, right?

\- You mean me? I thought you knew how much a disaster I am in such situations.

\- Oh I think you’re hilarious in such situations. You’re embarrassed, awkward, and really funny. And that’s exactly what I’d need. An icebreaker.

\- From a wingwoman to an icebreaker. Lucky me,” I said while nudging him.

He laughed, finally, and sat straight again, as some noise came from the other rooms. Apparently, everyone else was finally awake. We both looked around, and suddenly got up and went on to prepare coffee, tea, and breakfast for everyone. Lancelot looked shy again, like he couldn’t believe his eyes, but wore such a big smile that it was clear that he had already let go his doubts. He had a plane to catch just an hour after Alex, so we had decided that I’d drive them both to The Excalibur so he could pick up his stuff before I took them to the airport. At some point, we all got a text from Leon. He had sent us a picture of the kids before they entered his classroom, and it was clearly chaos. He added “i love them, but today i’d rather be with you kids, than with them. Enjoy your time, i hope we’ll all be together again soon”. Alex, who was watching the picture from above my shoulder, took his phone out and commanded:

\- All of you, get closer! We forgot to take a picture last night!

\- But Leon’s not here,” Elyan protested.

\- I’ll edit him in. But you have to promise me to not forget, next time.

\- You’ll have to send it to me then, I’ll feel terribly lonely after tonight,” added Lancelot.

\- Of course! Now, get closer and smile!

I was standing near Alex and watched them all laughing and pushing each other to be as close Arthur and Gwen as they could. It was their big game every time I insisted on taking a picture. When they were finally ready, they waited for Alex to take the picture. I turned my head towards him, and he was watching me, an eyebrow raised.

\- What are you waiting for?” he asked.

\- What? You’re the one with the phone…

\- I mean, why are you not going with them?

\- Oh! I thought you… I thought they… wanted a picture alone…

The room erupted in protestation.

\- We thought you didn’t want to be in a picture with us!” said Percival, amused.

\- Really, Anna?” asked Elyan, almost a bit pissed.

\- Come on!” said Gwen, rolling her eyes.

\- Join us Anna, it is rare to have you in a picture, as you are usually the one taking it. It will be nice to have you here, for once,” added Arthur.

I think I blushed a bit, but I joined them. Gwaine and Percival lifted me up too quickly for me to protest, and I ended up in a precarious situation in between their shoulders, laughing. I’m pretty sure Alex took more than a dozen pictures of us like that. Then his phone passed from one hand to another, and a lot of other pictures were taken. I knew he was good at editing and lightning and stuff - after all, it was his job - so I knew we’ll have some great ones out of this morning.

*

But soon we had to leave, and after some harrowing goodbyes, promises, and - at least for me - some dust in my eyes, Alex, Lancelot and me finally drove away from the castle and to the Excalibur then to the airport. The guys spend the ride trying to make me laugh, probably because they saw I was a bit sad. Too quickly, we arrived at our destination. We were a bit short on time, so the goodbyes with Alew were quick too. Actually, I think it was for the best, as I didn’t have the time to shed a tear. At least not when we hugged, but when I was waving him goodbye from the other side of the glass wall in the terminal, I did cry. Hopefully, he didn’t see it… Lancelot did though, but he didn’t say a thing.

We had another half hour before he had to go through security himself, so we sat and took another coffee. One thing was certain, I would not fall asleep at work this afternoon… Lancelot started by thanking me for my help, and without transition asked me how I felt about Alex. My face probably reflected my thoughts, because he sighed.

\- Anna, I don’t know any of you very well yet, and I don’t think I have recovered entirely from last night's events. But one thing I absolutely remember from my past life is the way I felt about Gwen. And trust me, I’d prefer to forget, it’s sooooo weird… But anyway, I think you like that guy a bit more than you’d like just a friend. And if you don’t want to end up exiled because you are too sad to function - basically, I advise you to act on it. If you like him, you should tell him!

\- Yeah well, we live a sea apart.

\- Long distance relationships work, you know. I lived in the US for two years at some point, while my girlfriend, now my wife, was here.

\- Yes, I know it’s just… Well I’m scared! I’m scared he might not like me, and even if he does, starting a relationship by not being able to see each other might not be a good idea.

Lancelot shrugged.

\- You’re a coward,” he said with a smile.

\- I know,” I sighed. “I’ll think about it, promise. Speaking of your wife… will you tell her?

We spoke about her, among other stuff, for the last 15 minutes we waited. Her name’s Parminder and she’s an english teacher. She was one of his sister’s friends from university. I also learned that he was still working on the musketeers show, and he was really happy about that. He said, and I quote “it’s not the most intellectual or historically accurate show ever, but it’s fun and the crew is the best”. Plus the critics were good so the future was bright. Then it was time for him to go. We kissed goodbye and this time I didn’t cry when I waved at him through the glass wall. I was feeling blue, but I knew this would pass quickly. These days, just a look at the guys was enough to cheer me up.

I have a lot to think about, but I also look forward to what’s next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me dream about The Musketeers being renewed. I loved that show...  
> Also : I wrote this fic before watching The Night Shift. If not, I may or may not have resisted to make this a crossover ;)


	10. It’s not much what we’re living, it’s not much where we’re living (but it’s home)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last one. The epilogue, if we can say that.

It’s June now. Tomorrow, I will leave for France for three weeks. I still don’t know what I’m going to do about Alex, but we have a whole week planned together, hiking - easy - in the mountains. I know what I want to do: tell him how I feel. But I don’t know what I’ll do. If I’ll have the courage to say something. But I stopped worrying and decided to just follow the moment or something. Lancelot told me that it was another way of saying I was still afraid, and I know he’s right… Speaking of him, he came back to Avalon once since March and we did take a lot of pictures. I also had a work convention last month in London, and I managed to see him and his wife. She is also adorable but still a bit scared that her husband might be going crazy. I think she was a bit reassured to see that he was not the only one believing that King Arthur really existed. Or maybe she was thinking that I was mad too… Either way she was really nice to me and even said that she was impatient to meet her husband’s new best friends.

Elyan got a job at Percy’s foundry and he’s quite happy about it. Percival is happier than ever, and I’m pretty sure he calls Lance everyday. Gwaine finally managed to go out without Arthur, and dragged me to another bar at the opposite side of town too many Mondays for my sleep schedule. But it’s always fun and I think he met someone he likes. I don’t think he realises it yet though so I keep my mouth shut. Merlin took a part-time job as a shop assistant in an antique shop and soon after, the day we all feared had come, last week actually. Arthur told us he wanted to do something with his life. Now we’re all trying to find something he could do without being seen as too weird… We all assured him that he would be competent in any job he’d choose, and that we only wanted to protect him. To prevent any event that could send him back to the hospital.

Arthur and Gwen are very much in love and get used to this new life pretty well, for both of them. Sometimes it feels like they are the parents of a bunch of kids, but some other times it’s Merlin who look at us with emotion. And also, sometimes it’s me who has to remind everyone to talk a bit less openly about their past lives when we’re in the streets… Arthur also insisted on going back to training, so Merlin built them some sort of training field, and somehow found swords and shields and crossbows. I had a lot of fun at first, watching them trying to find their reflexes back, or to get back in shape. It was less fun once they persuaded me to try too, and visibly decided to make a knight out of me… But I did agree at first, and even though it’s hard and I really want to hit them hard at least twice a session, I feel like it’s good for me to exercise a bit. And Gwen does it too, even though she’s way better than me. And also, I do know that the only way I get to actually hit them is by getting better, so…

Leon is planning a two-weeks trip for all of us together at his family’s house in the countryside during summer break. I probably won’t be able to make it as I already took the next three weeks off, but I’ll go meet them on the weekend. Lancelot will come for a few days with his wife. This news worries everyone a bit but I’m sure everything will be fine.

*

So, the holidays went fine. After the week with Alex in the mountains - great time by the way - I spent another week with my parents, thinking about everything we said to each other. I was a lot more relaxed about it than the last time, and maybe this explains why it was so great? I’m not sure but I do believe we flirted a bit… No, I am not sure, because I am terrible at it when I do it consciously, so forget about when it’s not on purpose. I saw him again a few times during this week and I’m pretty sure Gwaine will disown me as much as he could if he was there and saw me doing nothing… Percival understands though, so he’s the one I tell every detail. Lancelot too, even though he’s still trying to make me say something. Maybe next time?

We spend the next month being hot. Literally. The weather was crazy and Merlin assured me it was not something he was supposed to tempered with. I don’t really know what his magic is supposed to do then, but when I ask he always ends up mumbling about destiny, time of great need, and Arthur. I guess he doesn't really know either. But he still made a pool out of nothing in the garden, so I suppose he still can use it however he wants! Then they all left to go to Leon’s family house and I’m supposed to join them this week-end. I’ll pick Lance and Parminder at the nearest train station on my way there. But for now, I have the whole castle for myself! So obviously, I’m bored… I can watch every movie I want, but it’s less fun without Gwaine who always finds something to criticise before shutting up bit by bit and ending up liking it. I can read anything I like but I got used to reading with the sound of Arthur and Merlin bickering, or Leon grumbling about his students' mistakes. I got used to them… It’s so weird though, I feel like I know them too much for someone who just lived with them for less than a year. But it’s a nice feeling.

Arthur takes it as a duty to call me every night, and tell me about their day. He’s so happy because one of the neighbours lent them horses and they spent the day riding. I’m glad I missed that, I never rode a horse and I would have spent an awfully long day trying not to fall. I can finally manage to carry a mace without falling over, but I’m not ready for horse riding. I can’t wait to join them. I am only back for a few weeks, but my boss is already insufferable. I don’t know if I’ll support it for two more years. Some of my coworkers managed to appreciate her, but I am not the only one to really not like her. We’ll see. On the bright side, Lance promised a surprise for us all this week-end, and he seemed really happy about it so we’re all taking bets. Gwaine thought he was about to tell us he was going to get married, but we reminded him he was coming with his _wife_. I know Arthur kinda hopes he’ll tell us he wants to move in in Avalon, and even though I think it’s not a bad idea, I’m pretty sure it’s not for this time. Maybe later. As for the surprise, I have my own idea. I think Gwen and Leon thought more or less about it too, but I’m sure they don’t exactly know. Me neither...

*

FRIDAY!! Thank god… I negotiated with the harpy to leave work early, and I had the feeling I was selling my soul. But I had to drive for a good hour and a half to get to the train station to pick Lance and Parminder before going to Leon’s house. An hour and a half, that’s what I needed to relax after this stressful week at work without anything really great to do at home to get my mind out of it. I’ll never admit it, but my daily phone calls to Arthur and more or less the others were the only bright things this week!

I managed to be right on time on the station and I actually waited a minute or two for Lancelot’s train to come. It was a small station and they were the only one getting out, so I immediately saw I was right. I just didn’t know how much. I took my time saying hello to everyone, and laughing, and talking about the surprise, and all my troubles went away. We put all of their stuff in the car and I took the map Leon gave me out of the glove compartment. His house was out of the grid, he told me. So the last half-hour drive was really fun. I was driving and Lancelot and Parminder was trying to give me directions. But between my inability to know my right from my left in french, let alone in english, and Parminder own troubles, it was wild. Lancelot was apparently the only one who could read a map and give me correct instructions, but he was a bit motion sick if he tried to read. So he only kept trying to help by reading us every road sign he saw. It was a nice ride, a bit chaotic yes, but nice. When we came in view of the house, Lancelot glanced at the back seat then asked me :

\- What will they say?

\- What do you think? They’ll be surprised and super happy.

\- I think Seb is more concerned by the fact he didn’t say anything before,” added Parminder.

\- Naah, I’m sure they won’t think of that for one second. And they already expect a surprise, so it’s the point that he didn’t say anything.

\- I hope they won’t be angry at me or something though,” she said.

\- Oh trust me, they are physically unable to be angry at someone who made one of them happy.

\- I am a bit… scared. I’m about to meet King Arthur!

\- Our ability to believe all of that, after a bit of time to adjust of course… That still amazes me. You’re married to a man saying he’s Sir Lancelot, Knight of Camelot, and you’re first concern is that you’re about to meet his King.

\- Yes. I still don’t know who’s the craziest.

I looked over to Lancelot, and we both answered :

\- Gwaine.

We laughed, and I parked the car. I saw movements inside the house and as I got out, I heard calls. Lancelot and Parminder got out too, and I helped them with some of their stuff, as their arms were already full. I noticed that nobody got out of the house to welcome us, and I recognised Gwen’s tact. So I led the way and I knocked at the door. They were so obviously right behind because it opened too fast. They were all there, tightly bound in the entrance. I said hi and got to the side, so they could see Lancelot, Parminder, and the two toddlers in their arms. I never saw them with these faces, at least not since the moment they woke up. They were all looking at the babies who were babbling happily - as they were since I met them at the train station. And step by step, I saw smiles, and they came back to life. Gwen invited them in, and warmly welcomed Parminder. Percival smacked Lance’s back, and Gwaine said some jokes. Merlin was over the moon and kept looking at the kids. Arthur was perfectly quiet and Elyan went to the kitchen to find some drinks for everyone. I made another trip to the car to retrieve all of our stuff, and I noticed that Leon was watching the happy reunion for a distance. He was not really there.

\- Leon?” I said in a low voice. “Are you ok?

\- Yes, yes, just… old memories. It’s not so difficult to work with kids at school, but here, babies, so close to me… Nevermind, it’s a happy moment, I’m not going to ruin it. Besides, I lived my life, I was ready to leave it when I… did.

\- Oh gosh, I didn't think of that... Don't forget, the hotline is still open if you want.

I knew Gwen and him were expecting a pregnancy announcement, not two already born children. I never considered the fact that it could bring back sad memories to him, who had been a father and even a grand-father once. He smiled, nodded at me and went back to his friends.

\- So, I don’t think we had been introduced! What are the names of these beauties?

\- How dare you speak like that about one of your fellow knight’s wife?” asked Gwaine, who could definitely not stop joking.

\- As soon as they stop being beautiful, I’ll stop. But this time, I was not talking about the girls, but about the kids!

\- Oh! We didn’t…!” Parminder exclaimed.

\- Guys, meet Isabella and Neel. They’re 8 months old and I’m sure they’re really happy to meet you.

Arthur, who was standing away from us, walked over the cradle where the twins were watching us. Lancelot put his hands on his wife's arms and stepped back a bit. Arthur bent over the kids, and looked at them both intensely. Then, slowly, he lowered his hand between them, and they both grabbed a finger and laughed. I don’t know what he was expected, but clearly not that. He stood up quickly, but kept his hand where it was, and looked over at Lancelot, a bit terrified.

\- I… They got my… I did not… I hope I did not… I do not know what...

Parminder laughed and took Neel out of his bed, then put him in Arthur’s arms. She helped him put his hands in the right places, then took Isabella out of the bed and asked :

\- Who wants to meet her?

A happy moment of laughter and cuteness followed. Elyan almost refused to take her in his arms, pretending he would not know how, but ended up with the biggest smile when Lancelot insisted. Leon didn’t seem sad anymore, and he was absolutely clear that he knew how to hold a baby. I was not, but Isabella is an angel and put herself in the right position. At some point though, she saw Percival, and from that moment nothing made her happy until he took her in his arms. Then she made herself comfortable, locked her eyes to his face and smiled. And the tallest, strongest man I know began to cry and laugh at the same time. He pulled Lancelot in his arms and hugged him tight, while the little girl laughed too. I saw Parminder wipe her cheeks discreetly, and I turned my eyes away, to give them intimacy or something. That’s when I saw Arthur, who was still holding Neel since her mother had put him in his arms. He was talking in a low voice, babbling, laughing, tickling the little boy who seems to like this. I grabbed my camera and immortalized this moment. Percival, Lancelot, Arthur and the babies, and the others watching them, moved. Only then I went to Arthur and teased him for not sharing. He blinked a few times, like I just woke him up. He looked at me, then back at little Neel and smiled.

\- I always thought… that babies were… loud… and… Uh, do you want to…?

\- Yes, Arthur, please, and I am not the only one who wants to have the pleasure to meet Neel. Don’t worry, you’ll have time with him again,” I added when I noticed he didn’t really want to let him go. “And you also have to take Isabella, she might get jealous of her brother!

\- Really? Do you think that is possible?” he asked, genuinely concerned.

\- No dear, she’s 8 months old, she probably won’t even notice,” said Gwen from behind me.

But after I took the boy in my arms, Arthur still went quickly to Percival and asked him to take Isabella. At first, she grabbed Percival's shirt, and refused to let go, but Arthur muttered something in her ears that made her laugh, and she let him hold her. Both Lance and Parminder watched the scene with intrigued eyes.

Soon after that, Leon said the dinner was ready, and we all ate happily. I swear the kids didn’t touch the ground at all this week-end. They didn’t even touch their beds… They fell asleep in someone's arms, and cried every time we tried to put them in bed. They only agreed with switching arms. But nobody complained, except Parminder who were more scared that they could be a disturbance. You should have seen Gwaine refusing to let Neel go at nap time. He was almost scared. It was really fun - not just the ‘Gwaine is scared’ part, the whole weekend was fun. Parminder got to know everyone a bit more, and she was indeed well accepted. They were all super nice with her, and made her laugh a lot. Lancelot was happier than ever, and to be honest, so was everyone. I took a lot of pictures, but my favorite has to be the one with Percival on the couch, Neel fully relaxed and spread out on his right arm and Isabella lying down on his right shoulder, with his hand on her to keep her in position, the three of them napping.

The week-end was over far too quickly and when I had to leave on Sunday, I was NOT happy. Every one promised me phone calls, video calls too, and Merlin winked at me weirdly so I knew he had something in mind. I drove back home with loud music, singing along to the most random songs to avoid sadness. I got home late - as I didn’t succeed in leaving them early, and I fell asleep quickly. The next day was not great, but I was looking forward to being at home, to call the guys and hearing about their day. I texted them as soon as I closed the door, and I didn’t have the time to put down my phone that I actually let it fall instead, as Merlin was standing in front of me, a huge smile on his face. I hit him with a shaking hand, the other one pressed on my heart.

\- What. Are. You. Doing. Here? And. Could. You. Not. Do. That?” I angrily asked while slapping him.

But it was hard to stay mad, he was laughing so much.

\- Haha stop, stop, Anna, listen, I was thinking-

\- Stop, you’ll really give me a heart attack…” I said, rolling my eyes.

\- It’s just that, I’m sorry, I’m so used to only using magic for me, or for little things, and not letting anyone else know, that I haven’t thought of it last week, but… Do you remember our picnic on the beach the other day?

\- You mean, the other day, like _months_ ago? Yes, I do, how could I forget!

\- Well, I did zap you there.

\- You _teleported_ me, yes, and? I still expect another meal like that, though.

\- I can _zapped_ you today.

\- On the beach? I mean, why not, but what’s the occasion?

\- No, at Leon’s.

\- But Leon lives here…” I said, confused.

\- You had a hard day, right?” he asked, confusing me even more with his jumps from one subject to another.

\- Uh, yes, but what’s-

\- I could zap you, at Leon’s family house, right now, to spend the night with us, and zap you back here tomorrow morning for your day at work. I could do that all week actually.

\- Oh,” I cleverly said, as the revelation hit me. “ _Oh_. Yes. Yes! Yes, that would be wonderful, Merlin! I’ll go- I’ll go grab my things!

*

The next week was amazing after all. Lots of laughs, few tears, mainly of laughter. Few actual tears, when at night, Merlin or Leon told tales of the old days. Everyone said it was for Parminder’s sake, but I’m pretty sure everyone learned some things. I also caught some strange looks on Gwen and Arthur's faces, usually after one of them took care of the kids. One night, as a joke, Parminder said that “it would be so fun if we could move in with you, right love?” and everyone waited for Lance's answer like he was the messiah. He laughed it off but I think he really thought about it later. It’s Friday, we’ll all have to leave on Sunday but until then we still have a lot of time together. It’s a hot evening, we’re on the patio drinking tea, coffee and bear, talking and laughing. We’re trying to keep it quiet because Isabella is sleeping on Leon’s arms. He holds her like she weighs nothing, as he’s used to it. Neel is snuggled against Elyan, who carries him like he would carry the most fragile thing ever.

I don’t know what will happen next. Will we ever find out why they’re all here? I don’t know, but right now, on this patio, I see Arthur and Gwen looking at each other with the most loving eyes. I see Merlin watching them with nostalgia and happiness. I see Leon trying to laugh as quietly as possible because he’s holding a baby and Gwaine tries his best to make him laugh louder, just for fun. I see Elyan hypnotised by the other baby sleeping on his arms and Percival lying on his elbow on the ground, eyes closed and head to the sky, a beer bottle on his hands, laughing occasionally at Gwaine’s shenanigans. I see Lancelot, an arm around his wife, both watching the scene with tender eyes.

I don’t know what brought them back together. And I was not there then, but let me tell you this: I’m pretty sure they’re as happy as they ever were. Maybe more. And I’ll do whatever it takes to keep things this way.

**Author's Note:**

> My chapters really don't have the same lenght. Some are short, some are reaaaally long, so don't expect any consistency ^^'  
> /!\ My sweet sweet beta is currently needing all her concentration for her real-life so that means that you'll have to wait a bit more for the next chapter. But don't worry, it will come :)


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